GUN Kitty Mobian Revolution
by Jonathan83X
Summary: After an ugly altercation with Snaptrap, Kitty is inadvertently sent to the planet Mobius unconscious, receiving assistance from a young girl named Hope Kintobor, who offers to help her return home. However, that proves to be easier said than done, as Kitty is suffering with a serious case of amnesia. To makes things worse, Eggman soon unleashes a deadly assault on Mobius.
1. The visitor from afar

**Disclaimer: The characters used in this story are copyrighted of Sega and Butch Hartman from Nickelodeon.**

**Author note: This story is based off of the current story being written by Ian and takes place about 2 weeks prior to Issue 225 of Archie Sonic.**

On a brisk and cool evening at around 6pm, Hope Kintobar prepared to leave for home after a hard day's work at G.U.N HQ. After clocking out, Commander Tower said to her warmly, but firmly as he walked by, "Good night, Hope. See you first thing in the morning."

Hope waved back at him in response with a slight nod and then headed out the door.

Like most work days at HQ, her schedule was very routine, building new devices and fixing old ones, etc…

This night though, would be anything than routine.

As usual, she passed by the city limits and headed into the park to get home faster since it was a shortcut. However, halfway into the park, she soon stopped and noticed something from above that made her eyes arch in bewilderment.

The evening sky soon began to show ominous dark clouds billowing overhead, slowly covering even the stars and moon behind it.

While this sight normally wouldn't have alarmed her since she was aware of rain was on the way due to the earlier forecast, these shade of clouds surprisingly sent a slight chill up her spine.

She soon thought to herself a bit puzzled while looking at the sky, that's odd… I don't think I've ever seen clouds that black before in Central City. It's almost… eerie.

Nevertheless, she abruptly blew off this feeling within her.

Eh, I'm probably just a bit stressed out from working too hard. Hope told herself in her mind. I just need to go to bed earlier and I should be fine.

However, that same chill still lingered within her, even while she continued to walk. It was as if this was an omen.

Again though, Hope brushed it off, thinking firmly with a frown, I don't know why I'm getting so paranoid all of a sudden. I'm part an elite core of soldiers and agents that will protect me from any harm that should come my way, so what am I getting so worried about?

Ironically, she did have one valid reason why she would feel this way. Hope had a half brother working with a psychopathic scientist who would stop at nothing at conquering the planet.

While they did most of their vile bidding around the Acorn Republic, Hope did wonder at times how long it would be before they would invade her side of Mobius and try to overthrow Central City as well.

That mad man's cunning ability seriously scares me, Hope thought to herself while walking. Eggman could turn the entire planet of Mobius into a vast wasteland of chaos and despair if he's not dealt with and soon.

Nonetheless, the young female mechanic decided to stop right then and there on worrying herself sick over the what ifs and instead focus on her role as a mechanic at G.U.N.

There's no point in speculating on what could happen in the near future, Hope told herself in her mind again firmly. I just need to do my part and help fortify Commander Tower and his army with the proper weapons to deal with Eggman or any other threat for that matter that comes our way, should and if it does indeed happen.

With that now settled, Hope continued her walk, now pushing those thoughts into the back of her mind. She was now less than two minutes from exiting the park, where her home would only be a mile ahead.

Unknown to her though, the young girl mechanic wouldn't be getting home as early as she would have liked. Less than a quarter of a mile from exiting the park, she was then abruptly blinded by a bright light from the east.

Her body instantly froze in place from this strange light, even shielding her eyes from with her right arm, now completely alarmed inside at what was happening.

"What in blazes is that?" she pondered out loud.

Fearing it could be Eggman or one of his cronies; Hope quickly grabbed the can of pepper spray from her right pocket and walked over to where the light had flashed to investigate.

She had brought it with her as a means of protection in case of getting mugged or ambushed.

If that vile Eggman dared to attack us under the cover of light, Hope thought to herself, he'll be in for a rude awakening!

Within seconds, the bright light began to fade away, where it slowly disappeared into the cover of darkness from before, followed by a soft plop sound soon afterwards.

Hope meanwhile finally arrived at the scene, preparing to attack if necessary. However, what she saw there on the grass near the sidewalk made her drop her guard, even to the point of gasping in disbelief.

Oh my goodness… it… looks like an injured human. It might even be unconscious too.

Hope then turned the person over on its back, as it was face first on the ground, trying to get a better look at them.

Again, she gasped in horror at getting a better look at it, thinking to herself, Wait a second. This isn't a human. It's a… Mobian!

What made it even more shocking was the fact that part of its fur and gray colored attire that it was wearing was burnt in several places, especially on the left side. Even small fumes of smoke were coming off its clothes.

The poor thing… Hope thought to herself with deep sympathy. It looks really injured.

She then took its pulse to see if it was still alive. Thankfully, it was, which made her sigh a bit in relief.

Moments later, she added a bit puzzled, you know, I've seen a lot of Mobians in my time, but I've never seen a feline one this tall.

In spite of the fact she was tired and weary now, Hope knew she had to help it.

I can't just abandon this cat, the female mechanic thought to herself, she needs immediate medical help and soon.

And so, running as fast as she could, Hope ran to the nearest payphone and called for assistance from G.U.N.

I can't take her to a normal hospital in this city; Hope told herself in her mind as she dialed, I'll have to bring her to the G.U.N one where they've had experience in the past of treating injured Mobians like Shadow and Rouge.

Since the G.U.N HQ was nearby, a medical team arrived on the scene within five minutes.

Normally, they wouldn't have bothered in situations like this since they didn't deal with many Mobian civilians, but since Commander Tower highly respected Hope and the work she had done for him as a mechanic, he reluctantly decided to agree to this request of hers of taking care of the injured cat in their hospital as a personal favor.

While the medical team gently lifted the slightly burnt tan feline by the arms and legs and placed her onto a gurney to work on her, Hope watched closely while they did their standard procedures. She even heard lead medical team member comment, "She's unconscious, but stable. Hurry, we've got to treat those 2nd degree burns pronto before they get any worse."

Thankfully, they were able to load the mysterious feline into the ambulance within several minutes, where the G.U.N medical team then transported her to their hospital.

As they drove away, Hope told a G.U.N solider, who had come with them as a bodyguard, "Thanks for helping her out. I really appreciate it."

"No need to thank me, Miss, just following orders." The solider replied respectfully, though a bit gruffly. "As for that Mobian Cat you found here, she should survive the night. You can check on her progress in the morning if you want."

Hope quickly nodded her head, inquiring with curiosity, "So, who is she anyway? Did you get any I.D?"

"I'm sorry, but that's not my department." He answered, using the same tone of voice as before. "Anyway, allow me to escort you home before I head back to my quarters."

Since this event had spooked her a bit, Hope agreed to his request without a second thought, where she now walked besides the armed male G.U.N solider towards her home.

On the way there though, Hope couldn't help but wonder if the abrupt drop in of the tan feline and the dark clouds earlier might be connected.

Is it possible there's something more to this occurrence than meets the eye? Hope pondered to herself. I mean, the two events are just a bit too conspicuous to be a mere coincidence…

In spite of this nagging feeling though, the female mechanic again blew it off, thinking, Nah, can't be. That's just silly. I think I'm letting my weary mind wander a little too much here. I seriously need to get some well needed sleep after such a long day at G.U.N HQ.

From that point on, Hope didn't give it much more thought. Nonetheless, she was still wondering where this tan feline had come from, not to mention why she was unconscious upon arrival.

I've got a weird feeling she's not from around here. Hope thought to herself. Well, whatever the case may be, I'll find out as soon after that cat comes to. I'll bet she has quite a story behind this occurrence to say the least.

Little did Hope realize, she would indeed, but it would be nothing compared to the impact this tan feline would have on the planet Mobius in the near future.

The perfect storm was now looming around the corner, and it wasn't the one currently in the sky.

Three days later at around 7pm, the tan feline was still unconscious in her hospital bed, though improving every day.

As part of the hospital protocol, Kitty no longer was wearing his gray jumpsuit, but a hospital gown, where her serious burns were now banged up as well.

Hope meanwhile was sitting in her room on a red padded metal chair nearby, hoping to see her come to and eventually talk with her.

Unknown to the female mechanic, the tan feline was now reliving a ghastly nightmare, one that led up to her arriving on Mobius.

The female cat soon slightly tossed and turned in her bed, saying with a soft moan, "No, stop!"

In her dream, she found herself in at T.U.F.F HQ, seeing most of her fellow comrades tied up and taken hostage. This had been done by none other than the vile rat himself, Snaptrap, along with his entire team of D.O.O.M henchmen, pointing lethal weapons at their heads.

The only ones who weren't currently tied up were her and her closest friend Dudley, though they had their hands up in surrender upon ordered.

Being incredibly brave, yet extremely foolish at the same time, Dudley attempted to play hero for the sake of his friends.

Sadly though, he would pay dearly for it.

When he tried to ambush Bad Dog from behind and take him down with a strike to the back of his head in order to get his gun, it unfortunately ended in disaster. Dudley was instantly grabbed by the neck instead and then flung violently towards the north into the next room.

The second he hit the ground on his chest with an abrupt thud, Snaptrap ordered his men, "Enough of this nonsense! Give this mutt a violent object lesson for his defiance!"

The D.O.O.M team, who were all carrying laser powered Tommy guns in their hands, quickly pointed their weapons at the currently stunned agent. Snaptrap then shouted at them a split second later, "Kill him, now!"

Before Kitty could even gasp in horror, they unloaded dozens of rounds at him in the next room. Instantly, she ran towards the next room in a great panic, shouting with her right arm extended in front of her face, "DUDLEY! NO!"

Ironically, the D.O.O.M agents did not immediately turn their guns on her when she did this. Instead, Snaptrap dealt with this T.U.F.F agent promptly instead, where he quickly tossed a tightly wrapped six pack of lit TNT several feet ahead of her on the ground.

Kitty sadly had little time to react. With it having a quickly burning fuse, the only thing she could do after coming to a stop was shield her face from the blast.

Then, a split second later, it violently exploded on her, spreading debris and fire to spread everywhere

Kitty not surprisingly took a big brunt of the blast. She was quickly knocked several feet into the air from the velocity of it, disappearing into a bright sphere of light on the east side of the room.

During that last part of her nightmare, the feline agent shouted again and again with fear and trembling, "No, NO…. NOOOOOOOO!"

Hope meanwhile finally stood up and walked to her bedside, trying to see if she would wake up from her state of unconscious. Thankfully, she would, though not in the way the young female mechanic would have preferred it.

Now firmly grabbing her right shoulder, Hope tried to gently nudge the tan feline awake, saying, "Miss Cat, wake up. You're dreaming."

Within seconds, Kitty abruptly sat up her in bed from her touch, greatly alarmed. Huge beads of sweat soon began to drip down her face, now breathing heavily in a panicked state.

"Calm down, feline." Hope told her softly. "Don't stress yourself."

Not surprisingly, her words wouldn't help in the least. Instead, Kitty saw someone was grabbing her arm, soon turning her head to look at them.

Instantly, the tan feline wrenched away abruptly from her grasp, where she then showed her razor sharp claws from her right hand at Hope, demanding loudly in anger at her, "Who are you? Were you sent by that vile Snaptrap to finish me off?"

Hope quickly recoiled backwards at her tone of voice, even taking a couple of steps back, replying alarmed, "Miss Cat, I have no idea who you're talking about, but you seriously need to put those away. I'm not going to harm you."

"Then why am I here?" Kitty demanded sharply. "Explain yourself!"

The female mechanic did indeed, though with hesitance, replying, "I'm Hope Kintobar. I'm a member of the elite fighting core called G.U.N here in Central City. And furthermore, I've never heard of this character Snaptrap before you mentioned him."

Her explanation however did not satisfy the tan feline, as she still glared at the young girl, not trusting her one bit.

Hope then added, now frowning back at her, "you know, you really need to stop snapping at me here. I just helped save your life and even convinced the Commander to let you recover in this hospital."

Kitty now looked at her with arched eyebrows, inquiring, "You… saved my life? What are you talking about?"

"You were unconscious in the park, Cat lady." Hope told Kitty, placing her hands at her sides, still frowning at her. "You were really in bad shape when I first found you. You even had multiple second degree burns on your body." She then added a bit scoldingly, "I believe I'm due some gratitude for going out of my way to help you, don't you think?"

After hearing that, Kitty finally softened up inside, as she soon retracted her claws, eventually replying with a sullen sigh while looking away, "I'm sorry. I just… had something horrible happen to me, but I don't have the vaguest clue what the aftermath of it was."

"What do you mean?" Hope inquired. "Did it having something to do with that nightmare of yours?"

"That was no nightmare." The tan feline told her with arched eyebrows. "It really happened."

"I don't follow you." Hope said. "You mind telling me what's really going on here?"

Kitty was now silent inside, as she answered with a sniffle and a tear in her right eye, "My best friend and partner, Dudley, was… attacked with automatic assault weapons." She then added after a long pause, "I… don't even know if he's alive now or not."

"Dudley?" Hope had no idea who this was, but remembered she was saying his name during her apparent nightmare. "You mean the same one from your nightmare?"

"I told you…" Kitty reiterated angrily at her. "That was no nightmare. If anything, I was reliving that past experience in a dream."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean any offense." The female mechanic said softly to her in response. "Anyway, tell me something… is your name really Kitty Katswell?"

Strangely, the tan feline didn't even flinch at her question. Instead, she looked at Hope with a blank expression on face, replying awkwardly while trying to wrack her brain, "I… don't think so. That is, I can't even remember my own name now."

"You can't? Seriously?" Hope not surprisingly found this very hard to believe. She then inquired with skepticism, "How can you not even know your own name when you clearly know your partner's?"

"I… really don't know why…" Kitty answered softly, placing her right hand on her forehead while looking at the floor. "I wish I knew. My mind can't seem to remember much of anything now."

Hope at this point could only assume her facial burns from the left side of her head had something to do with her current loss of memory. She then walked over to her moderately charred jumpsuit and pulled out her I.D from one of the lower pockets, asking after extending it towards the tan feline, "Is this yours?"

Kitty quickly took it from her hand and examined it thoroughly, eventually saying softly, "This… is my picture all right." She soon added more firmly, "So, I guess that really is my name."

She then examined in further, where she soon saw her T.U.F.F credentials and agent rank and qualifications.

Hope, who had already seen it earlier, asked her, "According to your I.D, it says you were a Class S agent. And on top of that, you're a martial arts expert who's very fluent in speech. Is that true?"

Not surprisingly, Kitty replied softly with hesitance, "I guess it is. I'm… not really sure."

By now, Hope was fully convinced this feline agent really was suffering from some sort of memory loss.

Kitty then commented with arched eyebrows, looking further down at her I.D info, "My claws are registered as lethal weapons? Wow, that's… interesting."

"Why do you think I stepped back when you showed me them?" Hope retorted with a frown. "I wasn't about to take a risk with something like that."

While the tan feline continued to look at her I.D peculiarly, Hope asked, "Tell me, Kitty, where do you originally come from?"

Kitty quickly repeated her words back awkwardly, "Where do I… come from?"

"Yes, can you tell me?" Hope inquired with deep curiosity.

Sadly, Kitty was unable to. Instead, she answered while shaking her head a couple of seconds later, "I… sadly cannot. My mind is a complete blank about it."

As it turned out, the name of her city, Petropolis, was not listed on her T.U.F.F I.D. Thus, it remained a mystery to the female mechanic.

Hope then asked, "Well, what all do you remember from before? Can you tell me that much at least?"

Kitty now put a hand under her chin to think, replying after a long pause, "Well, other than the I.D info you just showed me, the only thing I can remember vividly is my partner's name, what happened to him and the name of the villain who opposes my team of agents."

"Anything else?" the female mechanic inquired further.

The tan feline again wracked her brain, answering softly, "Actually, now that I think about it, I do now remember vaguely that my team was about to sentence Snaptrap to be permanently banished." She then added softly, "He was going to be sent to another dimension as his punishment for his vile crimes against the city."

"Another dimension?" Hope quickly asked several seconds later, "Wait, was this portal open during your fight with him and his men?"

Kitty racked her brain a third time, and there she saw a faded image from her past memories in her mind, replying with a gasp, "Wait a second… Yes… Yes, it was open. Another member of my team had just activated the switch for us to toss him in. But, we never got the chance. His men quickly ambushed us from behind seconds later before we could deal with Snaptrap appropriately."

"Then what happened?" Hope inquired, now more curious than ever.

"I… don't know for sure." The tan feline answered, quickly gritting her teeth in frustration, placing her hands on her head as she did so. "The last thing I remember was something being thrown in my path when I ran towards Dudley to help him, giving off a bright flash in response. After that, everything's a blank."

"You really have no idea what that object was?" Hope asked with arched eyebrows.

"Unfortunately… no." Kitty answered with a heavy sigh. "I wish I did."

Hope then gave her opinion about it, stating while placing a hand under her to think, "Well, since I found you with burnt clothes and heavily smelling of smoke, I think it's safe to say it most likely was an explosive of some sort."

"You really think so?" the tan feline inquired. Sadly, due to the shock of the blast, her mind was unable to determine what it was due to her memory being very fuzzy now.

"I don't think it, I know it." Another voice said from a distance.

Kitty and Hope quickly turned around startled, and there they saw her doctor standing in the doorway of her hospital room, with the G.U.N Commander right behind him.

As he walked in, the doctor stated firmly, "After doing a thorough C.A.T scan on this Mobian cat, I quickly discovered from the test results that she had been hit with a large blast of fire and gunpowder from the left side of her body before going unconscious. That's why she currently is suffering from a serious case of memory loss."

After hearing that, Hope said to Kitty, now turning to face her "So, it really is true… A heavy explosive jarred your brain upon detonation before you came here. That would fully explain why your clothes and part of your fur were burnt and you smelled of smoke."

As the tan feline pondered this over, Hope added, "The blast must have knocked you into that portal, which would explain why you're now here in this world."

After hearing that, Kitty could not argue with her assessment one iota.

Hope then said after a brief pause, "There's still one thing though that's deeply puzzling me about this whole thing."

"What's that?" Kitty inquired.

"Why was it that portal was coordinated to arrive here?" the female mechanic asked. "I mean, I doubt you would send an arch nemesis to a place like this intentionally.

Again, Kitty couldn't argue with this point.

"So tell me, how did it get aimed at our dimension's coordinates then?" Hope asked again. "It doesn't make any sense."

"No, it doesn't at all…" Kitty replied softly, thinking this over more intently than ever. "But, I sadly don't have an answer for that now."

Before Hope could respond to her statement, the doctor cleared her throat, saying to them "I hate to break up your discussion here, but I have something I need to tell your new friend here."

"What is it?" the female mechanic inquired.

"Well, now that Miss Katswell's awake and alert," the doctor explained, "I'll need to run a series of tests on her by tomorrow morning to see how soon she'll be ready to leave the hospital."

"Why is that so important that it couldn't wait until later?" Hope asked, now flashing arched eyebrows at him.

"Because, Miss Kintobar," the doctor answered firmly. "I was instructed by the Commander to have her moved out of this medical facility the second she's well enough to leave."

"What?" Hope now was offended by this news, even strongly feeling neither of them really cared about Kitty's condition at all.

"I'm sorry, but that is my orders." The doctor told her. He then stated with another clearing of the throat, "Anyway, I have other patients to attend to now. Good night."

The second the doctor was out of the room, Hope looked at Commander Tower with deep disappointment in her eyes, saying, "Sir, how can you act so cold now? You act like you can't wait to get her out of here."

"I'm sorry if I have offended you," the G.U.N Commander replied. "But you do realize this is not a shelter for those well enough to walk out of here, right? This is meant for injured G.U.N soldiers and agents."

Hope did understand that, but protested nonetheless, "But, sir, Miss Katswell's suffering from memory loss. She didn't even know her own name before I told it to her. Plus, I know she has no home of her own since she came from another dimension, so where is she supposed to go?"

Not wanting to look cold and heartless, Commander Tower answered diplomatically, "I don't mean to act like I don't care about her problems, Hope, but this is not something I can really help her with. Since she is Mobian, I think it would be best if she was transported to that part of the planet where many of them reside. They can give her the proper help that she needs."

Hope though wasn't convinced of that at all. "I can't just let her go there without someone trustworthy to take her in. She clearly is a lost soul now. Someone would take advantage from her partial state of amnesia."

While Commander Tower pondered this over, Hope added, "Plus, the Acorn Republic is heavily at war with Dr. Eggman. She would be stepping into a landmine of conflicts no newcomer would ever want to be apart of."

The G.U.N Commander clearly couldn't deny this, but replied nevertheless, "I can understand your deep concern for her well being. But like I said, this is something I cannot help her with. I'm sorry."

Hope though felt he wasn't that sorry for not lifting a finger in assistance.

Commander Tower soon added to try and act diplomatic again, "Miss Katswell will be allowed to stay at least until tomorrow afternoon. Maybe by then we can find a place for her reside here, assuming anyone would want to take her in of course…"

Hope sadly knew what he meant by that. With very few Mobians in Central City, not many humans would be that willing to take in a creature they considered filthy and a bit of a mutant.

Commander Towers then said after a long pause while turning his head towards the door, "Anyway, I must be heading back to my office. I'll leave you two alone now to work something out. Good night."

And with that statement, he walked out of the room.

After he was out of sight, Hope said to Kitty with sympathy in her voice, "I apologize for Commander Tower's harsh words, but he sadly is right. Mobians are looked down upon here."

Kitty ironically wasn't offended by it at all. Instead, her mind was mostly still preoccupied about her past memories in the T.U.F.F building, trying to make heads or tails of it.

Seeing her in deep thought, Hope said with an awkward expression, "Well, I hate to go now myself, but it is getting late. I need to go home and get some rest."

Kitty understood this completely, replying, "Sure, go ahead. I have a lot of thinking to do now anyway."

Hope then turned to leave, saying while looking back at the tan feline as she held the door open with her right hand, "Take care, feline. See you later."

Before the female mechanic could take three more steps, Kitty said to her out loud, "Hey, Hope…"

Hope quickly turned back to look at her, replying softly, "Yes?"

Trying not to sound too mushy, the tan feline said to Hope with a faint smile on her face, "Thanks for rescuing me from before. I guess I owe you a lot more than I'm even aware of now."

Hope couldn't help but flash a smile back at her, telling Kitty, "You're welcome, Miss Katswell, happy to be of help."

"Please, call me Kitty." She reiterated warmly. "There's no need to be formal around me since you helped save my life."

Hope now flashed an even bigger smile at the tan feline, replying with a slight nod, "Sure thing, Kitty. Good night."

"Night…"

Hope then softly waved goodbye to Kitty with her right hand and quickly closed the door behind her.

Once she was gone, Kitty now did a lot of soul searching within her, thinking to herself with a heavy sigh, Wow… I really don't know what to make out of all of this. So much has happened since coming here that it's a bit overwhelming to take in now.

Not surprisingly, she then pondered further while looking out the hospital window at the sunset, I wonder what Hope meant when she said I'd be stepping into a landmine of conflicts when mentioning that place called the Acorn Republic… Is it really that big of a hotbed for battles and wars?

As much as this info about Mobius piqued her curiosity, something even more important caught her attention again. She soon thought after a long pause with a tear in her right eye, Oh, Dudley… I sure hope you weren't killed by Snaptrap and his men. I would never be able to live it down if you're no longer among the living.

Sadly, with no way of knowing of how to get home and perhaps save her partner, the tan feline realized she had to make the best of her current situation now and try not to dwell on that horror of a memory too much.

"Well, since I'm stuck here, I might as well at least try and repay that nice girl for her generosity in the meantime." Kitty commented softly to herself. "Maybe she can help me get back home and even restore what was taken from me."

Deep down, Kitty had no idea if that was possible, if at all. There was unfortunately a good chance she was now stuck in Mobius, with no way of ever getting home.

Even so, she would if nothing else, try to regain her lost memory. It now held the key to her having any shot of returning home to Petropolis.

The following afternoon, Kitty finally received her test results of her current health.

"Well, other than your temporary state of memory loss and a few burns that have been properly bandaged…" the doctor told her, "You're in good health and are now cleared to leave the hospital."

Hope, who was also in the room at the time, asked of the doctor, "So, you're saying you're giving her discharge papers now?"

The doctor nodded his head, replying softly, "Yes. That is correct."

"But she no place to go." The female mechanic protested. "You can't just kick her out without a home of her own."

"I'm sorry, Miss Kintobar." The doctor told her with sympathy, "But orders are orders. I have to give this room to more needy patients."

Kitty, who was in now back in her current jumpsuit attire, tattered and all, ironically took the news better than Hope did. She understood this was not a place of refuge for her to reside in.

"What's Miss Katswell's supposed to do now?" Hope argued "You know how evil people can be. They would clearly take advantage of her current condition."

The doctor at this point felt a little empathetic for the tan feline after hearing this, replying with a heavy sigh, "I really wish I could help you, but the best I can do is give you an additional ten minutes to think of something while I go write up her discharge papers."

Hope by now finally gave up trying to argue about it. She wasn't going to get any help from him and she knew it.

"Anyway, I'll leave you two alone to talk it over." The doctor said after a long pause. "I'm really sorry, Miss Kintobar."

The doctor then left the room and walked towards the receptionist desk to the proper paperwork.

While he did that, Hope looked at Kitty with sadness, telling her, "I really don't know what to do to help you now. You need a place to stay, but I don't know where would be the best choice."

Kitty though looked at her with a slight smile of gratitude, replying a bit boldly, "It's ok. I'll just make due in the meantime. I can take care of myself. I am a Class S T.U.F.F agent after all…"

In spite of her reassuring words, Hope knew she couldn't let her walk into the unknown parts of Mobius alone. It was far too dangerous for someone with memory loss to survive for long.

So, realizing there was no other alternative solution for this scenario, Hope said to her, "Listen, Kitty, I'm sure you are a pretty tough individual, especially with the impressive resume I've learned about you, but I can't just let you do that. You have no idea what's out there."

While the tan feline pondered over what she trying to imply, the female mechanic added, "Anyway, I think until you get your memory back at least, it would be best for you to come stay in my home for the time being."

Kitty was now overwhelmed at her offer of generosity, inquiring, "You'd… really let me come live with you, just like that?"

Hope quickly nodded her head, replying, "Yes. I can sense you're a trustworthy individual. And since you appear to be really down on your luck now, allow me to make my home a place you can take shelter in."

Within seconds, the tan feline slowly knelt at Hope's eye level and then hugged her tightly, saying with a tear in her right eye and a sniffle, "Thank you. I… don't know how I could ever repay you for this wonderful act of kindness."

Hope soon returned Kitty's embrace, answering with a smile on her face, "We'll worry about that later. But for now, my home is now your home."

During their warm embrace, the tan feline felt she had just made a new friend. She didn't understand how all of this was happening or why, but she nonetheless felt deeply indebted to the female mechanic.

This young girl had in a sense, helped ease the pain of being isolated from those at T.U.F.F.

As for Hope, she too ironically felt a strong connection with Kitty while they embraced. Even she couldn't deny now there was something unique about this feline from the moment she had found her in the park.

It was if destiny had allowed their paths to cross for a very special purpose, one that neither of them was even aware of at the moment.

Ten seconds later, the doctor returned, where he saw them still hugging. He then cleared his throat to get their attention.

Instantly, the looked at him deeply startled, where they soon stood up deeply embarrassed. Once they were on their feet, he said softly, "I didn't mean to ruin your touching moment, but I have Miss Katswell's discharge papers ready to be processed. She can go as soon as she signs them."

Since Kitty now knew where she would be staying, she didn't hesitate to sign them as instructed.

As she did so, the doctor stated to try and sound sympathetic, "Anyway, Ma'am, I do have you find a place to go soon. I'd hate to see you or anyone else for that matter homeless in this city."

"It's ok." Kitty replied with a smile on her face. "I have a place to go to now."

"You… do? Really?" the doctor found this hard to believe, arguing,"But, before I left, Miss Kintobar said you needed to go."

"And she has one now." Hope told him. "I'm going to let her stay with me."

"You're not serious, are you?" Not surprisingly, the doctor was one of those who found Mobians creatures something he didn't trust around any humans.

"Yes, I'm very serious." The female mechanic replied, looking at him intently with arched eyebrows. "Miss Katswell's memory loss is too great of a risk to allow her the roam the streets unprotected, so I'm going to allow her to live in my home."

"Are you sure that's a wise thing to do?" he inquired, still very skeptical. "I mean, what about you and your protection?"

Hope now was instantly offended by that statement, demanding angrily with her hands at her hips, "Are you actually insinuating she would do something to harm me in any way?"

Even Kitty by this time was deeply insulted by such a suggestion.

"N-no, of course not." The doctor replied, trying to do damage control on his previous words. "But I… err.."

Unfortunately for him, he couldn't finish that sentence, as he saw Hope's eye burning into his with pure disgust.

Deciding to not say anything more for fear of getting further backlash, the doctor now shook his head abruptly, saying soon after, "Whatever… it's your home and you do what you think is best."

He then took the papers from Kitty's hands and added with another clearing of the throat, "Anyway, now that Miss Katswell's papers are signed, she is officially cleared to leave."

The split second he finished that line, he quickly walked out of the room, saying abruptly, "Good day to you both."

After he was out of sight, Hope turned to Kitty and told her with a look of anger, "See, this is one of the reasons why I'm letting you stay with me. It's people like him who would use your memory loss against you once they found out about it and then do who knows what with it for evil purposes."

Kitty sadly couldn't argue with that one iota. It too made her angry inside that people would be vile enough to take advantage of her current condition.

Several seconds later, the female mechanic handed Kitty her house key and said, "Here, you can use this to get inside my home."

While the tan feline took it from her hand, Hope added, "I don't have an extra bed for you to sleep on unfortunately, but you can sleep on the couch in the living room. It should do for the time being."

Being in no position to complain, Kitty slightly nodded her head in response, replying, "Thanks, I appreciate it."

Hope then stated after a long pause, "Well, I hate to go now, but my lunch hour is officially over. I have to get back to my shift at G.U.N HQ on the double."

"I understand." The tan feline said. "I'll just be on my way out now."

Hope nodded her head in response, saying, "Anyway, in case you need help finding my home, ask a fellow G.U.N solider in this hospital to escort you. I'll have them informed of your situation before I head back."

"Ok, sounds good." Kitty replied with a slight smile.

Soon after this, the female mechanic turned to leave, where the tan feline said loudly before she could take a step, "Hey, Hope…?"

"Yes, Kitty?"

Kitty at first hesitated to ask her question, but soon did nonetheless due to time constraints, inquiring awkwardly, "Um, just wondering… why do you trust me so much?"

"What do you mean?" Hope asked with puzzlement.

"Well, most of the humans that I've seen here so far act like I'm scum or something to be feared." Kitty explained. "You on other hand… you seem to think otherwise. Why is that?"

Since time was not on her side, the female mechanic gave a quick, but reassuring answer, replying, "Because, Kitty… I've spent time with Mobians like you before. I'm a pretty good judge at figuring out if they have a good heart or not after getting to know them."

While Kitty pondered this over, Hope added with a warm smile, "Anyway, I unfortunately don't have to explain all of this to you now, but the bottom line is, Kitty, I trust you full heartedly. I know deep down, you wouldn't do anything to betray my trust."

The tan feline couldn't help but smile warmly back at Hope as well after hearing that.

"Well, I hate to leave so abruptly…" Hope said after a brief pause, "But I really must be off. I'll be tardy if I delay leaving any longer.

"I understand." Kitty replied. "I'll see you later then."

Hope quickly waved at her as she left; now running off as fast as she could.

Once the female mechanic was out of sight, Kitty now felt even more indebted to her than ever before, thinking deeply touched inside, That Hope really is such a nice girl. I'll really have to do something special to show my gratitude for her generosity.

Thirty seconds later, Kitty finally walked out of the room herself and headed for her home, asking for assistance soon after.

As Hope had told her, she would indeed get an escort, though not in the exact manner she would have hoped.

Not surprisingly, they at first resisted Hope's request when she first told them about it, that is until she offered to pay them up to two hundred dollars upon returning if they agreed to give her a proper and respectful escort.

Since money was tight for a lot of them, they then gladly agreed to it. Even two soldiers fought over the job since they desperately wanted that easy pay out.

Not wanting to make a scene, Kitty said, "Boys, you can both escort me there and then split the money."

"No way!" they both shot back in unison.

Their argument now soon escalated to the point of them nearly shouting at each other.

Kitty then said with a frown to finally get their attention, "Or maybe you can instead make a big enough scene that the Commander will eventually find out about it and have you both punished for disorderly conduct."

When Kitty put that way, the two of them realized she was right. So, they reluctantly agreed, with one of them saying, "Fine, but you're going to owe us a favor if we both take you there."

"What kind of favor?" the tan feline demanded, crossing her arms with deep skepticism.

"I don't know," The same solider replied, now smirking at her, "But I'm sure we'll think of something soon enough."

"It had better not be anything illegal or something of that nature." Kitty said, very suspicious inside. "Because if it is, I swear I'll…"

"Relax, cat lady." The other soldier told her firmly. "It'll most likely be a small sum of money or even a simple request to help further our status at G.U.N. You can trust us here."

Kitty though didn't in the least.

Nevertheless, in order to get that payout, they said to the tan feline with fake chivalry in their voice, "So, shall we get going, Ma'am?"

Deciding to get it over with, Kitty replied with a heavy sigh, "Very well then… lead the way."

And with that statement, they soon walked her out of the G.U.N medical facility and towards the park.

As they did so, Kitty thought to herself angrily while she walked behind them, if these creeps dare try anything funny on the way there, I won't hesitate to scratch their faces up good with my lethal claws.

Meanwhile, in a familiar looking base on the western side of the Mobius, the mad doctor soon made his way back to his own personal room, where he was then abruptly bumped into his nephew after entering inside of it.

"Is there a reason you've barged into my quarters uninvited?" Eggman demanded gruffly of Snively.

Snively then replied with a bit of hesitance while standing in front of him, "Well, I was just wondering, sir… how did the operation go?"

"You mean with Lien-Da?" he inquired with a frown. "Why do you even bother asking? Her health is no concern of yours."

"Well, she is one of our top soldiers of the Dark Egg Legion." The small lackey explained softly, trying to keep his composure. "Since she is a big contributor to your plans, I don't see the harm in knowing of her current status."

Eggman though could sense he was not being completely honest about his reasons for asking, but replied nonetheless with a frown while heading for his chair to sit in, "If you insist on knowing, her operation was a complete success. I was able to restore her better than ever." He then added with a smug grin, "In fact, you wouldn't even suspect she had been hit by explosives before if you saw the work I did on her."

Snively didn't like the way he said that last part at all, but stated after a small pause, "You must've had to put in a lot of cybernetics in her if is indeed true."

"Oh, you think…?" Eggman retorted, soon blowing him off with a huff.

After he said this, there was then a long period of silence, as Snively didn't know what to say next. When he finally did, the small lackey asked, "So, tell me, sir, how long until you're going to show your next master plan to those vile rodents in New Mobotropolis?"

"All in due time, my pathetic nephew." Eggman replied quickly, still not facing Snively as he spoke. "The pieces are not in place yet for me to make my move."

"What do you mean by that, sir?" Snively inquired, now looking on with arched eyebrows.

"You'll find out soon enough." Eggman shot back, flashing another grin at him. "It's going to my little secret."

The mad doctor again turned away from Snively, as the small lackey asked further, "So you're not going to tell me anything else?"

"Nope."

Snively by this time was beginning to feel very irritated by his mind games, protesting, "I can't be of much help to you if you're not going to share what you have up your sleeve."

"Exactly, and that's the way I want to keep it." Eggman countered.

"I don't get you at all, sir." Snively said with a frown. "What good can possibly come from me being kept in the dark?"

"Because then I can enjoy surprising you, little worm." The mad doctor retorted, now turning his seat to thump him on the nose abruptly with his right hand to make it bounce up and down, soon added, "It's one of the few joys I have left that warms the goggles of my heart."

Snively instantly recoiled at this, holding his hands over his nose to settle it down, as Eggman inquired after a brief pause, "You get it now?"

Not wanting to let on he was disgusted with Eggman's tactics, Snively replied with a heavy sigh, "Yes, sir."

Deep down though, he thought angrily while looking away, I'll get even with you for this soon enough, you putrid tub of lard! I won't stand for your constant abuse much longer.

Eggman meanwhile said a few seconds later, "Anyway, go make yourself useful for a change and do some well needed cleaning around the base. I have important things to do now in my quarters."

While Snively was tempted to protest about it, he soon thought better of it, answering with an out of patience sigh, "I'll get right on it, Dr. Eggman.

And with that statement, the small lackey left the room to do as he was told.

Nevertheless, he thought while walking, now more incensed than ever, just you wait, Eggman… your day of reckoning will soon be upon you. I'm going to formulate a brilliant plan in the near future that will turn the entire planet against you and your diabolic ways. You can count on it!

Four days later at around 6:30pm, Hope arrived at her house after another day's hard work. She then said as she walked in the door, announcing warmly "Kitty, I'm home."

Unlike the last three days, the tan feline wasn't in the living room to greet her. This time, she heard noises coming from her backyard, making the female mechanic arch her eyebrows with suspicion.

"What is that cat up to?" Hope pondered to herself out loud, walking to the back door to investigate

The split second she arrived in the backyard, Hope saw Kitty up ahead near a fruit tree, appearing to be aggressively attacking it with her razor sharp claws.

Instantly, the female mechanic ran towards her, asking a bit shocked, "Kitty, what are you doing to that poor tree? Stop it!"

The tan feline quickly turned around a bit startled, not noticing her before, saying, "Oh, um… hello, Hope. I didn't hear you come in."

Hope though didn't respond to that. She instead demanded with crossed arms after walking over to her from the left side of the yard, "You mind explaining to me what in the world you're doing now?"

Kitty not surprisingly felt somewhat guilty inside now, realizing maybe this wasn't the best of ideas, replying awkwardly, "I'm sorry, I didn't intend to make it look like I was intentionally trying to harm your tree here."

"Then why does it have a lot of claw marks on it?" the female mechanic interrogated with a frown. "I don't understand what would propel you to do something like this."

Kitty now looked away with slight embarrassment, answering with hesitance in her voice, "I was… practicing."

"Practicing? For what?" Hope asked, now softening up a lil inside.

"Well, I took a good long look at the info again on my badge today." Kitty explained softly. "So, after pondering it over for awhile, I decided to find out if I really do know martial arts and have lethal sharp claws."

She then added before Hope could respond, "And surprisingly, I do indeed. In fact, the more I worked at it, the more it felt it was like second nature to me. It was as if…"

Hope finally interrupted her, saying now with complete understatement, "The memories from your past are slowly come back to you…"

Kitty softly nodded her head in response at her statement, as Hope now said to her with a smile while clasping her hands together, "That's… wonderful. I was hoping to see this happen to you soon. This is great news."

"So, does this mean you're not mad at me anymore?" the tan feline asked her.

"Well, I am a little bit since this is one of my favorite trees in my yard." Hope told Kitty, trying to be diplomatic about it. She then said softly before Kitty could say anything in response, "But, it's ok. My fruit tree isn't so important that it can't be used for a good cause once in awhile."

"I didn't know what else to use to test to see how sharp my claws really are." Kitty explained further. "I mean, I wasn't about to use your furniture or anything real value to you to find that out."

"And I appreciate it." Hope reiterated. "Still, all you had to do was tell me about this and I would have gladly brought you something that you could test your claws on till your heart's content."

Kitty now put a hand under her chin to think, eventually replying with a lot of awkwardness while looking the female mechanic in the eye, "Oh yea… I should have thought that. She then added while flashing a sheepish grin, "I apologize."

Hope though didn't harbor any more hard feelings, as she then grabbed her right wrist with her right hand and replied gently, "No need. It's all good now, nothing more than a simple misunderstanding."

Kitty by this time couldn't help but smile at the female mechanic's kindness, thinking to herself, you know, I don't think I could have asked for a better person to live with for now than her. She really is such a sweetie.

Seconds later, Hope let go of her hand and said, "Anyway, what do you say we go inside now and have some supper together? I bet you must be starving."

Ironically, Kitty was indeed, as she spent most of the evening practicing her skills. So, she said responded with a nod, "Sure, lead the way."

And with that statement, the two gals quickly headed inside.

Kitty then commented as they walked, "You know, I'm actually so hungry right now, I'd even be willing to eat cat food from a can."

"Oh, that's good to know." Hope replied with a sly grin, "Because I got you some on my way home."

"You're… joking, right?" the tan feline inquired with arched eyebrows.

"Nope." The female mechanic told her, trying to keep a straight face, "I figured since you're a cat, you might as well eat food that was made for them."

Hope by this time finally made it to the door, where she soon looked back and saw Kitty had stopped a few feet away, now glaring at her with crossed arms.

"Oh, c'mon, don't be like that. I'm just kidding around with you." Hope said with another grin after an awkward pause. "Even I know that Mobians don't eat food made for normal animals."

Kitty finally got the gist of her little tease, eventually commenting with a slightly annoyed look on her face, though suppressing a bit of a grin at the same time, "Ha ha, cute…"

That same night in the Acorn Republic, the former king of New Mobotropolis was now discussing his psychotic plans with a trusted soldier of his… none other than the cunning skunk himself, Geoffrey St. John.

After King Max told him of his plans, Geoffrey inquired with arched eyebrows, "You sure this is a good idea, sir, causing internal chaos within the city while Eggman's still at large?"

"Trust me…" the old squirrel king replied with a sly grin. "This is for the best."

"I don't see how." The treacherous skunk said. "If anything, it's going to split the kingdom up into two camps, making us even more vulnerable to Eggman's attacks."

King Max then looked at Geoffrey in the eye and said with an angry glare, "Let me tell you something, St. John… my son is a weak and a pathetic ruler. Eggman is going to overthrow his reign soon enough, regardless of what I do."

While Geoffrey looked at him peculiarly, the old squirrel king added with the same emotion in his voice, "My son couldn't even stop a small internal rebellion caused by that traitorous Amadeus Prower. Instead, he actually gave in to Sally's suggestions of having a democracy without even raising a single protest in response."

King max then slammed his right fist on his nightstand as hard as he could, shouting angrily, "That is unacceptable! My son is an absolute embarrassment as king of this city!"

Geoffrey not surprisingly recoiled a bit at his outburst, as the squirrel king added, "That's why I'm going to have someone come in and challenge his rule as leader of this city. It's time for my son to either grow up and prove his worth as leader or leave with his tail between his legs back to his former life of mediocrity. Either way, this city needs a more worthy ruler."

"But suggesting this particular individual to challenge him…" Geoffrey argued. "Surely you don't think there won't be some serious backlash when he makes his claim to the throne."

King Max then looked away with a heavy sigh, replying, "Yes, I know the Freedom Fighters will not be happy about this, especially since they have a bad history with this wizard. Nevertheless, he has a rightful claim to become king, so they're in no position to do anything about it."

Geoffrey again was in deep thought, as King Max soon added, "Anyway, you have your orders, and I expect you to carry them out. Do I make myself clear?"

The treacherous skunk quickly nodded his head, replying with a sly grin of his own, "Consider it done, your highness. I'll gladly backstab that blue bundle of misery for ya and bring in Naugus to challenge Elias."

"Excellent." The old squirrel king said, now beaming with prime. "I knew you wouldn't let me down."

Moments later, he then inquired of Geoffrey, "So tell me, how's your wife Hershey doing now? I haven't heard from her since that mission she went on awhile ago."

Geoffrey instantly did a full body cringe, answering with hesitance on his face, "Oh, um… she's fine. She's just, uh, deep undercover at the moment. But I do expect word from her though any day though."

Not surprisingly, King Max could sense this skunk was not being 100% honest with him, as he soon asked with arched eyebrows, "Are you ok, St. John? I'm starting to get the feeling something has happened to her that you're not telling me about."

Again, Geoffrey tried to play it cool, replying with a slight stutter, "N-no, your highness, nothing's happened to her. I-I'm just a bit nervous now since this mission you asked me on is going to be very risky to pull off successful."

By this time, the old squirrel king knew something was up, but decided to not press further on the matter for now, saying after a long pause, "Very well then. You had better be going. Sonic is in the hall waiting for you."

"Oh, y-yea, of course… I'll just be on my way." Geoffrey then added as he slowly walked off, giving a hypocritical salute with his right hand while looking back at him, "See you later, sire."

As he walked off, King Max thought to himself with a frown, that skunk is definitely hiding something from me. I better get someone to watch him closely. I'm starting to get the feeling he may not be as loyal to me as I once thought he was.

Geoffrey was indeed hiding something.

While he walking off, the treacherous skunk thought to himself angrily, Oh, I'll carry out your mission all right, Max… but once Naugus takes over this city, I'm switching over to his side. Then, I will make you and your despicable family pay dearly for having my beloved wife perish due to sending her on a ridiculous suicide mission.

Even at this moment, Geoffrey was methodically plotting his revenge on them. He in a sense… was now out for blood.

To be continued…**  
**


	2. Job Opportunity

Two days later at Hope's home during her day off, the young female mechanic bought some gym equipment for Kitty to train with in her back yard. It included a boxing bag to punch with, a seven foot log with a rope attached to it to sharpen her claws on, even some hurdles to jump over to test her agility.

Since Hope figured it would help her rediscover herself faster, as well prevent the tan feline from tearing or breaking anything important of hers, she had it set up as soon as possible to see Kitty in action for herself.

Once the equipment was in place, Kitty did not disappoint one iota. She hammered the bag with quick punches right and left, strong karate kicks to its midsection, even pulling off a perfectly timed triple roundhouse kick as a finishing move.

As for the log, Kitty made wood shavings out of it with her lethal claws within minutes, slicing it with speed and power again and again. Every stroke was right on the money and cut deep into its foundation.

Hope by this time was left absolutely in awe at how skilled she was with this equipment. She could only conclude Kitty wasn't labeled a Class S agent from T.U.F.F for nothing.

Seconds later, with the log now severely carved to the point of being bare from all angles, the tan feline took a couple of deep breaths and wiped the sweat from her brow in the process with her right hand. Hope meanwhile clapped at her breathtaking performance, commenting, "Well done. That was most impressive."

Kitty couldn't help but smile back at her kind words, as the young female mechanic soon added, "But can you clear the hurdles with the same success as well?"

"Just watch me." The tan feline replied confidently with a wink. "I'll clear them with ease."

As Hope watched on intently, Kitty soon got into a starting position, where she then bolted towards the hurdles at top speed.

Like the last two, the tan feline backed up her words with ease, as she cleared every single hurdle with very little difficulty. Even when Hope requested to see her do it two more times, Kitty did not let her friend down in the least. She again jumped over the hurdles placed around the backyard without even breaking much of a sweat.

After she cleared the last hurdle on her successive third run and crossed the finish line, Hope clapped even louder for Kitty. Her workout performance was nothing short of inspiring.

"I can't believe it…" Hope said after she finished clapping and ran up to her. "You actually mastered these tasks with ease on your first try. Your memory of how to train and fight must be fully back to be able to do that."

"I guess so." Kitty replied softly with a nod. She then added with a sad sigh, looking at the ground as she did so, "I just wish I could remember now the really important things though from my past."

Hope then grabbed Kitty's right wrist with her hand, replying with a warm smile while looking her in the eye, "Don't fret about that too much, Kitty. It'll come back to you when the time is right. I just know it."

"I hope so…" the tan feline said with another sigh.

"C'mon, let's go inside and cool off with some ice cold lemonade." The young female mechanic suggested. "You must be really thirsty after working out in the hot sun for this long."

Kitty was indeed very parched, replying softly, "Actually, I could go for some ice cold milk instead if you have any."

"Oh, I see… But I thought you didn't want me to treat you like a cat." Hope said with a sly rib.

"Well, that doesn't mean I don't want to enjoy some of the pleasures from my species, right?" the tan feline explained with a sheepish expression on her face.

"Relax; I'm just kidding around with you again." Hope told her with a playful smile while looking Kitty in the eye. "Might as well have some fun since we're living together now."

"Err… yea. If you say so…" Kitty responded awkwardly.

Later that night at around supper time, the two gals soon sat at the table for dinner. Hope soon placed a large piece of salmon and a baked potato on each plate for them to eat.

"Well, let's dig in." Hope said after sitting down in her usual chair.

Not surprisingly, Kitty preferred the salmon due to it being another of her species delicacies while Hope enjoyed the potato more.

A couple of minutes into their meal, the tan feline soon looked at Hope intently, saying, "You mind if I ask you some questions?"

"Sure, shoot." The young female mechanic replied, smiling back at her after finishing a bite of her food.

Kitty though hesitated to speak at first due to not being sure how to ask it correctly due to it being a bit of an awkward subject, but soon did anyway after a small pause, saying, "Well, I remember you saying in another part of Mobius that it's a hotbed for wars and conflicts, even mentioning it would be not a good place for me to go to at all."

"Yes, I did." Hope answered, looking at her peculiarly. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I hope this doesn't sound intrusive," Kitty said, "but can you tell me more of why this is so? You really got me curious now."

Not surprisingly, the young female mechanic didn't answer at first, as this was indeed a loaded question, one that was very personal too. Instead, she looked away in deep sadness.

"I hope I didn't offend when I asked this, but I really would like to know if it's ok with you." Kitty reiterated.

When Hope still didn't answer after she said this, the tan feline finally sighed heavily after another long pause, adding, "Never mind. I guess it's really none of my business."

Hope though finally spoke up, saying, "No, no, I'm sorry. It's just… not a very pleasant memory to think about is all."

"Why is that?" Kitty inquired. "Can you at least tell me a little about it?"

"I guess so…" the young female mechanic replied softly, "but I have to warn you, it's not a pretty picture."

Kitty soon sat back in her seat completely, as Hope soon told her everything she wanted to share.

"You see…" she explained, now looking the tan feline in the eye. "I actually lived among them at one time."

"Really?"

"Yes, Kitty. About a year ago, I lived in their main home called Knothole."

"Knothole? Is that one of their main cities?" Kitty inquired.

"Well, it was more like a Freedom Fighter shelter at that time", Hope told her. "But in a sense, yes, it was a city for them to take refuge in."

"Freedom…Fighter? What's that exactly?" Kitty asked further with confusion in her facial expressions.

"It's what they called themselves after my uncle declared war on Mobius and went on a violent rampage to turn every living Mobian into a robotic machine." Hope explained.

Kitty was now left dumbfounded by this statement, asking in shock, "Wait, you mean to tell me your uncle was the main instigator of their battles for freedom?"

Hope slowly nodded her head in shame, replying, "I told you it wasn't a pretty picture."

"I guess you weren't kidding…"

"Anyway, it would take too long to explain everything that happened in that span," Hope told her, "so I'll just keep it brief and only mention the important details."

After another long pause, Hope continued her story, saying, "My uncle Julian was thankfully defeated for good by the legendary Mobian hero, Sonic the hedgehog. As much as it pained me to find out he was killed in battle, I knew it was for the best. He was truly evil personified."

"But, if he was killed, why is there still turmoil in that part of Mobius?" Kitty asked with deep curiosity. "I'm really confused now."

"I was just getting to that part." Hope replied. She then said after clearing her throat, "Some time later, another mad scientist soon came in out of nowhere to take my late uncle's spot, calling himself Eggman."

"Eggman? You mean the same one you mentioned at the hospital?"

"Indeed so, Kitty." The young female mechanic told her with a nod. "Ironically, while he wasn't the absolute terror of a man my uncle Julian was, Eggman is nonetheless a force to be reckoned with."

The tan feline was now in deep thought over this information, as Hope added softly, "He is the main reason I don't live in Knothole anymore. It was recently blasted to bits during an all out assault with his war machines."

Hope then said with a sigh after a long pause, "He even destroyed New Mobotropolis as well, their main city now, but the city surprisingly was rebuilt better than ever in less than twenty four hours."

"It was rebuilt that quickly?" Kitty inquired with arched eyebrows. "How is that even possible?"

"I don't know for sure either," Hope explained, "but from what I could gather from others, it was due to their super A.I computer, making a city out of nanites."

"But that doesn't make a lick of sense." Kitty protested. "How could a super computer rebuild a city with these so called nanites?"

"I don't know how it's possible myself, but from what I learned about her during my stay in Knothole, this super computer is very advanced." the young female mechanic told her. "She even powers the city with her super computer abilities as well."

"She? You mean it's a female?" Kitty by this time was even more confused.

"Yes, her name is Nicole, according to what Princess Sally told me, her best friend." Hope replied.

"Wow, this story of yours is just getting more confusing by the second." Kitty stated, feeling very overwhelmed inside, placing her right hand at that side of her head while looking down at the ground. "It's making my head hurt a bit too just trying to make heads or tails about it."

"That's exactly why I didn't let you go there." Hope explained. "I knew you wouldn't be able to handle being in area with partial amnesia and no experience of what to expect. You'd be lucky to last more than three days in that place of constant unrest and turmoil."

Kitty now looked at her new friend with a warm smile and deep gratitude on her face, replying, "Well, I thank you for being that thoughtful of my well being. You really are sweet to go to all that trouble."

"Don't mention it." Hope answered, flashing a smile back at her. "I was happy to do it."

For the next ten seconds, there was nothing but silence, as Kitty finally spoke up while clearing her own throat, saying, "Anyway, go ahead and finish your story."

Hope did indeed, replying, "Not long after Knothole was destroyed, the Freedom Fighters soon invaded Eggman's base and soundly defeated him."

"They did? But why is he still running amok if that's true?" Kitty inquired perplexed.

"Because Eggman pulled off one of the craftiest plans a mad scientist could do when was brought to his knees…" Hope answered, eventually shaking her head in disgust. "He pretended to go insane. The Freedom Fighters even bought his act sadly, leaving him in the hands of Snively, his right hand man."

"Snively?"

Yes, he's been Eggman's lackey for as long as I can remember." Hope told Kitty with bitterness in her voice. "He too sadly has nothing but contempt for the Mobian race."

Kitty then asked her after a brief pause, "Did he happen to work for your uncle too?"

This question almost made Hope do a double take, inquiring while trying to keep her composure, "How did you know that?"

"Well, I was just curious is all." The tan feline explained. "I mean, when you mentioned his similar disdain for these Mobians, I couldn't help but put two and two together."

At that moment, she noticed Hope was looking more evasive in her body language than ever before. It was almost as if Kitty had struck a personal nerve that the young female mechanic didn't want to talk about.

"Anyway, I hope you don't mind me asking," The tan feline said, "but why is it when you mention this Snively character, it seems to really bother you deep down?"

Hope now looked Kitty intently in the eye, replying gruffly with a frown, "I really rather not talk about it. No Offense."

"Oh?"

"I don't mean to sound rude here," Hope explained softly. "But he and I have a past that has left me very bitter at him."

"I see…" Kitty at this point could only guess what she was trying to say, but didn't know for sure.

You know, I don't know why, Kitty thought to herself while pondering it thoroughly, but for some odd reason, I get the feeling she personally knows this character Snively a lot more than she's letting on.

Nonetheless, to be respectful of her feelings, Kitty dropped the matter completely, inquiring after a long pause, "So, what happened next?"

"Well, after Eggman was defeated," the young female mechanic replied. "Snively joined forces with an evil woman from the Dragon Kingdom, having a joint attack to bring down New Mobotropolis."

"An evil woman?"

"Yes, Kitty. She called herself the Iron Queen." Hope explained. "Using the help of several clans from that region of Mobius, they actually executed quite an assault against their city, even coming close to overthrowing it."

"I take it by the way you're talking that they failed." The tan feline stated.

Hope quickly nodded her head, answering, "Yes, thanks to the combined efforts of Sonic and Sally, their assault was soon dissolved and came to nothing."

"It's funny you keep mentioning them." Kitty said. "Are they the important leaders of their city?"

"Indeed they are." The young female mechanic answered. "Sonic is the Freedom Fighters' most powerful solider, using his speed and power to shred Eggman's machines to bits."

While Kitty pondered this statement over, Hope added, "Princess Sally on the other hand is the brains of their operation, using her intelligence and brilliant tactics to overcome any difficult task the others can't handle with ease."

"It sounds like they make quite a team." The tan feline stated impressed.

"Yes, they do." Hope told her. "It's for that very reason I can't help but think Eggman one day in the near future may do something drastic to one or both of them in an attempt to cripple the city's defenses and overthrow New Mobotropolis."

"I see…" Kitty then her friend asked after another long pause, "So, how did Eggman return to power anyway after pretending to be insane?"

"It was very simple I hate to say." The young female mechanic replied with another frown on her face. "After the Iron Queen was defeated and taken away to be imprisoned, that vile Snively bolted and helped Eggman escape his imprisonment pod and return to his base."

"Just like that? No one even noticed him escaping?" the tan feline inquired with arched eyebrows.

"Well, since it was mass confusion during the climax of the battle with the Iron Queen," Hope explained, "he and Snively unfortunately just timed their departure well, leaving the city where neither of them has been found to this day."

"Wow, that's… quite a story you have there." Kitty stated softly, placing her right hand on her chin to try and take it all in.

"Indeed it is." Hope replied with a solemn nod. "That's why I chose to come here after Knothole was blown up. Since Eggman doesn't bother this part of Mobius much, I figured it would be one of the safest places to reside in for now."

"I take it by the way you worded that last sentence, you're worried he's going to strike here someday too." Kitty concluded.

"I'm almost certain he will." Hope replied. "He is the most dangerous man on this planet as of this moment. If he isn't stopped and taken out in the near future, the carnage he could cause could almost be as chaotic as when my Uncle invaded every realm of Mobius and turned into a robotic wasteland."

After Hope put it that way, Kitty couldn't help but fear she had inadvertently stepped into a hotbed of conflicts even in their current location.

The young female mechanic though said to her softly when seeing Kitty looking on with deep concern, "Don't fret too much about this situation. It isn't your problem anyhow, especially since you came here inadvertently."

"I know." Kitty replied. "Still, I can't help but feel I should do something to help you, especially after all the trouble you've gone to help me."

Hope again smiled at the tan feline, telling her, "I appreciate your genuine sentiments, but I believe the most important thing for you to do now is regain your lost memories so you can get back home and help your friends there. They need your help more than I do, especially after the story you told me of how you ended up here."

Kitty couldn't deny that one bit. Within moments, her ghastly trace images within her mind of Snaptrap and his men shooting dozens of ammunition rounds at her best friend Dudley instantly flashed through her mind, making the tan feline intensely cringe while thinking about it again. It even made her eventually shed a couple of tears soon after as well.

Even Hope noticed this, asking with concern of her own, "Kitty, are you ok?"

"Huh? Oh, um, yea, I-I'm fine…" the tan feline replied, trying to downplay her emotions, giving the young female mechanic a sheepish facial expression. "It was just a bad thought that crossed my mind is all…"

Hope though could tell it was more than that, but for the sake of her feelings, she dropped the matter entirely.

After another long period of silence, Kitty finally spoke up again, saying, "Um, Hope?"

"Yes, Kitty?"

"Well, I've been meaning to ask you this as well, but does the planet Mobius have any portal devices that could send someone to another dimension?"

Hope again smiled at the tan feline, replying without a split second of hesitation, "Actually, yes, it does."

When Kitty looked on encouraged, Hope quickly added, "In fact, I actually have built one within the G.U.N HQ facility."

"You do? Kitty now glanced at the young female mechanic a bit disturbed and upset, asking with a frown, "Well why didn't you tell me about it sooner then? I could have been home by now."

"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Hope answered.

"What do you mean by that?" the tan feline inquired with arched eyebrows.

"You see… my dimensional transporter has to be calibrated properly for it to send you back to your rightful home since it was originally designed as means to travel to different zones around Mobius." Hope explained. "I would need to have some inkling of where your home is exactly or I won't be able to help you in that department."

When Hope put it that way, Kitty now understood why she didn't tell her about it earlier.

"I guess this means I won't be going back until I can remember the name of my city at least." Kitty stated with a heavy sigh.

"That unfortunately is a given." The young female mechanic replied softly with a nod. "I'm really sorry, Kitty."

Within seconds, the tan feline again looked at the floor deep saddened. Hope then reached across the table and placed her right hand on top of the Kitty's, saying to cheer her up, "Hey, c'mon now, don't let it get to you. You'll rediscover this information before you know it. Just be patient."

Kitty soon looked back at Hope with a faint smile, replying, "Well, it's kind of hard to be patient now, since I've been feeling so restless as of late."

"Oh…?"

The tan feline soon nodded her head, explaining, "While I do appreciate you letting me take shelter in your home, I really want to be doing something important instead of just lying low for now."

"But, Kitty, I already explained to you why that's not a good idea." Hope argued. "This world is not a safe place for you to be in without some form of protection."

"I understand your concern for my well bring," Kitty replied. "That's why I've been recently pondering the idea about maybe working with you at your place of employment to keep me preoccupied."

"Come again?" Hope by this point was deeply confused.

"G.U.N is technically an organization with agents and soldiers, right?"

"Yes, why do you ask, Kitty?"

"Well, maybe I could become one of their agents." The tan feline suggested.

Hope instantly dropped her fork on the floor that was she was using to eat her potato, eventually saying with shock, "Y-you can't be serious."

"Why not?" Kitty inquired.

"Because, Kitty." The young female mechanic argued. "You saw how they treated you at the hospital. G.U.N isn't an organization that would take too kindly to you since you're of the Mobian species."

Kitty did indeed understand this somewhat, especially after the way two soldiers from G.U.N escorted her home.

"So you're saying they don't allow any of their kind to work for them?" the tan feline asked further.

"Well… technically they do, but only a rare few are an exception in that matter." Hope explained.

"Really? How many do they employ there?"

"No more than two, Kitty." Hope answered. "And the only reason they're accepted at all is because they're very gifted individuals."

The tan feline again was in deep thought, as she soon said after a long pause, "Well, I'm technically a gifted individual too if you think about it."

"How so?" the young female mechanic inquired.

"Well, I know all forms of martial arts. I can speak very fluently and even cut almost anything with my razor sharp claws."

While Hope pondered this over deeply, Kitty added, "And besides, I was one of the top agents at T.U.F.F. So, that should count for something, right?"

"I guess it does…" the young female mechanic replied, still feeling very hesitant inside.

"Plus, maybe working for them will help me regain my lost memories sooner." Kitty concluded. "I mean, a lot of what I don't remember now has to do with me being an agent from before."

When Kitty put that way, Hope couldn't help but admit she might have a point. The young female mechanic then said with a long and reluctant sigh, "Well, I guess I could talk to the Commander about it if you really are serious about this idea of yours."

"I am very serious." The tan feline answered firmly. "I really want to be doing something useful with my time until my memories are fully restored."

Hope now looked at Kitty with another warm smile, replying, "Ok then. I'll make a request with the G.U.N Commander tomorrow to request a job interview as soon as possible."

"Thanks."

"But I have to warn you, Kitty." Hope reiterated strongly, now looking at her friend firmly in the eye, "There's a very good chance he won't even give you the time of day due to his strong prejudice of Mobians. You'll need to be prepared for either scenario."

Deep down, Kitty knew this was very possible, but didn't like to think about it. Nonetheless, she said with determination in her eyes, "I understand. If it sadly does come to that, then I'll just find something else to do in the meantime."

"That's the spirit." The young female mechanic stated with a soft nod.

And with that statement, the two of them resumed eating their meal.

Nevertheless, the tan feline couldn't help but wonder what she would do instead if she was indeed turned down tomorrow.

I guess I'll worry about that when the time comes. Kitty thought to herself. No point in thinking the worse for now…

The following day at around 9am, Hope went to see the G.U.N Commander about enlisting Kitty to their team of agents.

Not surprisingly, Commander Tower did not warm up the idea in the least.

"You want me to do what now, Hope?" he inquired with arched eyebrows.

"Sir, Kitty could really be an asset to the team." The young female mechanic explained. "She's smart, articulate, well trained, and…"

"She's a Mobian cat!" the G.U.N Commander barked interrupting. "It's bad enough we have two Mobians already on our team. I wouldn't have given either of them a second thought if they weren't so skilled at their jobs."

"But Kitty is very skilled too, Commander." Hope argued. "I've seen her in action. She's quite the fighter herself."

"Pah! Give me a break!" Commander Tower retorted with a frown. "You know how many times I've heard that line from other people to get me to bite? It's almost nauseating to see people using that as a sales pitch again and again."

"What could it hurt to give her a fair evaluation?" the young female mechanic argued. "Aren't you looking for the best troops possible to boost your ranks anyway?"

"I meant that in terms of human troops." The G.U.N Commander reiterated sharply. "We could always use more of them. But Mobians? No! The less we have of them, the better."

"But, sir…"

"Hope, you really are pushing my patience here." Commander Tower told her. "First you beg for me to let this cat stay in my hospital, which I reluctantly agreed to because I could tell she was in really bad shape. And now you want me to give her a job too? What do you think we are, a charity?"

"Of course not, Commander." Hope replied with respect in her voice. "But I really don't see the harm in…"

"That's why you're not in charge of this organization." The G.U.N Commander stated with authority, interrupting her again. "You're a very good worker here and I like you a lot, but I'm not going to let you keep thinking you can your use favor to get anything you want. I'm sorry."

In spite of these turndowns, Hope was not ready to give it up just yet, saying as a last resort, "Sir, just give her one quick rundown. If she turns out to be a waste of your time, I'll even be willing to take a 50% paycut for the next month in exchange for this favor I'm asking."

This proposal not surprisingly got his attention, as he asked after a long pause, "You're serious about that?"

"Yes, sir."

"You'd actually be willing to risk losing half of your pay for the next four weeks just for me to interview this Mobian cat?" Commander Tower inquired further.

Hope nodded her head firmly, replying, "Yes, Commander. I am willing to do that if she doesn't deliver."

The G.U.N Commander was now in deep thought, where he eventually said with a heavy sigh, "Very well… I'll test her during my lunch break today."

Moments later, he pulled out an official G.U.N document from a drawer in his desk and handed it to the young female mechanic after signing his name on the bottom, instructing her, "Give this paper to your friend. This will give Miss Katswell temporary access into our facility to be tested."

Hope quickly put the paper in her pocket and soon clasped her hands together in excitement, saying with a happy, yet low squeal in her voice, "Thank you so much, sir. You won't be…"

"But know this…" Commander Towers told her with another interruption, now looking her intently in the eye. "I will not be very lenient in the least about her obvious mistakes. She must shine or I don't want to see her again in this facility after today. Do you understand me?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, sir." The young female mechanic replied with a nod. "I'm confident you won't regret this decision at all."

I already have, The G.U.N Commander thought to himself. Nonetheless, he said to try and be professional, "Anyway, go tell your friend to meet me in the training room in this building by no later than 1pm. She must be there on time or I will immediately cancel her job evaluation."

Have no fear, sir." Hope told him confidently. "She'll not only be on time, but even early too."

"Yes, well…" he then cleared his throat, "Anyway, if you don't have anything else to say, please leave my quarters now, Agent Kintobar."

Not wanting to press her luck any further, Hope did exactly that, as she left with a spring in her step.

After she left the room, Commander Tower said to himself while shaking his head, "Why did I let her talk me into this? Does she really have that much favor in my sights?"

Meanwhile a few minutes later, Hope told Kitty, who happened to be standing outside the facility at the time, the good news.

The tan feline soon let out a sigh of relief, saying with gratitude in her voice after she handed the Commander's document, "Wow, I can't believe you actually were willing to lose half of your income for my sake. I… really don't know what to say."

"It was no problem at all." The young female mechanic replied with a smile on her face. "I figured you were worth it since you deserve a fair chance at getting a job here."

Kitty then knelt to Hope's eye level and gave her another sister like hug in response, saying to her deeply touched, "Hope, you're the best human friend a cat like me could ever ask for. Thank you so much."

"Don't mention it." Hope told her.

After they let go and Kitty stood up, the tan feline said a bit nervous inside, "I just hope I don't mess this up. I mean… I can't help but feel a lot of pressure now."

"Hey, as long as you put on the same performance as you did in my backyard yesterday," Hope reiterated with confidence, "you'll impress Commander Tower no sweat."

"You really think so?" Kitty inquired, still not 100% sure of herself.

"As long as you be yourself during the audition and just let your natural talent flow out, I don't just think it, I know it." Hope told her with a nod.

With her friend fully supporting her, Kitty was determined to do her best for the sake of this young girl.

"Either way," Hope reiterated after a brief pause, "As long you give it your all in there, I have no regrets at all putting my income on the line for you."

That statement ironically put even more pressure on the tan feline to succeed.

"Anyway, I better be getting back to work now." Hope told her after a long pause. "My break period is just about over."

"Ok then, I'll see you at the audition." Kitty replied.

Moments later, Hope abruptly turned back while attempting top walk away, saying, "Oh yes, I almost forgot." She then handed the tan feline a pamphlet, adding, "Here's directions on how to get to the training room."

After Kitty had them tightly in her possession, Hope told her, "I was tempted to let the G.U.N soldiers escort you there, but I personally don't trust them since I know they wouldn't want to help someone like you get a job here."

Kitty sadly understood this was indeed true.

"Anyway, make sure you head into the building early when you come for your appointment so you arrive on time." The young female mechanic instructed. "If any of the soldiers asks why you're there, just tell them you have a test to perform in the training room. If they still give you a bad time after that, holler for me. I'll see to it they get reprimanded for their actions at once."

"Ok then. Thanks." Kitty replied with a nod.

"Well, see you later, friend. Take care."

And with that statement, Hope ran back to her main quarters.

After she was out of sight, the tan feline couldn't help but wonder how much trouble she would encounter when coming for her job interview.

I better be on full guard here, Kitty thought to herself. I don't trust these G.U.N soldiers any farther than I could throw them.

Not surprisingly, the guards at the front of the building did indeed give her a bad time, even when she showed them her official clearance paper. Nevertheless, they quickly backed off when Kitty threatened to use her claws on them when attempting to take it away from her for kicks.

"Hey, you can't do that to an official G.U.N solider." One of them told her with a frown. "It's against the rules."

"So is interfering with my job interview, especially when I have authorized clearance." The tan feline told them sharply. "Now move aside or I'll go so far as to get you in trouble with the Commander for obstructing an official evaluation."

Deciding to not risk anything, they did indeed, with one saying in a huff, "No matter. You won't get a job here anyway. The Commander doesn't like your kind in these parts and you'll soon find that out the hard way."

"Whatever… your opinion of me means nothing." She retorted. "Now then, if you'll excuse me, gentlemen…" Kitty had said that last part with deep contempt in her voice while walking past them.

As she was out of their sights, one of the guards, who ironically happened to be those who escorted the tan feline home a week earlier, muttered to his comrade with disgust, "I can't believe the Commander actually went along with this. I thought he hated having any more Mobians within our ranks."

"Well, even if she does somehow get a job here," the second one said with a smug look on his face, "I'll make it worth out while soon enough."

"Oh, what did you have in mind exactly?" the first one inquired, now deeply intrigued.

"I'm not sure yet," the second one replied with the same look on his face. "But trust me, it'll be something big in our favor… if you catch me drift."

Thanks to Hope's directions, Kitty did indeed arrive on time, even fifteen minutes early.

To help her keep her nervousness in check, the tan feline soon did a couple rounds of calisthenics to calm her down. This included jumping jacks, even pushups.

Before long, 1pm had arrived, and the G.U.N Commander, along with a few soldiers to help with the obstacle course, soon came walking through the door while she was in the middle of a pushup.

Kitty then stood up abruptly, saluting him respectfully with her right, saying warmly to him, "Hello, Commander, I thank you kindly for taking time out of your busy schedule to evaluate my skills."

"Yes, yes, whatever…" he replied gruffly. "Anyway, let's get this over with."

Hope, who also happened to join the Commander in the room, thought to herself with concern, well, this meeting isn't going as smoothly as I originally hoped.

Commander Tower then looked the tan feline in the eye, telling her firmly, "Anyway, since I am indeed on a very busy schedule, I'm only going to assign one task to you to prove yourself. If you can pull it off successfully, I'll consider perhaps hiring you as part of the official G.U.N agents."

Kitty now looked on with glee at that possibility, as he added sharply soon after, "But you're going to have to really impress me for that to happen though. Do you understand?"

"Yes I do, sir." Kitty answered with respect. "I'll do my best to not disappoint you."

"Yes, well…" he then cleared his throat, saying loudly, "On with the task."

Seconds later, the G.U.N Commander activated a light switch on the wall nearby, revealing an obstacle course in the middle room.

Hope glanced at it perplexed, while Commander Tower told Kitty, "Your task will to run this obstacle course and pass all the obstacles while staying within the lines of the compound."

Hope now looked on even more dumbfounded, as the Commander added, "The accepted time to complete the course among human agents is a minute and fifteen seconds. However, since you are a Mobian and have feline prowess and speed, I expect you to run it no later than a minute and ten seconds."

"Sir, this course is for the advanced agents." Hope argued. "Why are you making her run something this difficult rather than something more suitable for her lack of experience?"

"Because, Agent Kintobar…" Commander Tower replied with a frown. "I don't have the time to see her go from level to level. I came here to be impressed, and there is no better way for me to see what she's truly made of than having her run this tough obstacle course."

Hope's fears of him being prejudice and unfair were sadly coming true. The G.U.N Commander then added to further his argument, "Besides, I read on her badge she was a Class S agent at her former agency. If that is indeed true, this course should not be too difficult for her run at all, am I right?"

"I guess so…" Deep down though, Hope knew this was dirty pool on his part, fearing she may have agreed to something without realizing all the possible negative outcomes of it.

Nevertheless, Kitty told Hope firmly when seeing her look of concern, "Don't you worry about a thing. I'm going to reward your faith in me and pass this course with flying colors."

Commander Tower soon let out an arrogant huff, replying, "We'll see, Miss Katswell. Talk is cheap. It'd be best for your sake if you hold your tongue now until you've proven yourself." He then added with a frown, "You should know this course will challenge every part of you body's abilities, agility, reflexes, even senses. You shall soon discover this out for yourself."

In spite of his big words, Kitty refused to let it intimidate her, thinking to herself, I will not let Hope down here if I have anything to say about it. She's gone to so much trouble for me that I'm going to wipe the arrogant look off of the Commander's face when this is all said and done.

Moments later, the G.U.N Commander said to her, "Anyway, to be somewhat fair here, I'll give you three attempts at it. If you fail all of them, you're officially done and won't get another shot at this agency. Do I make myself clear?"

"Loud and clear, Commander." The tan feline answered with a firm nod.

"Ok then, open the doors!" Commander Towers ordered loudly.

And with that statement, the door to the starting line opened.

Kitty meanwhile slowly walked into it, trying to keep her nerves in check, telling herself in your mind as a means of a pep talk, C'mon, Kitty, don't lose your cool now. You can do this. Just be yourself and let your talents shine. Don't let Hope's faith in you be in vain.

This obstacle course would indeed be anything but easy. She soon looked at it and realized the Commander wasn't kidding in the least about testing one's abilities, especially after he said from a PA loudspeaker in a closed off compartment of the training room, "I'll give you a brief rundown of it so you'll know what you're in for, just because I'm really am a fair and unbiased individual."

After clearing his throat, Commander Tower continued, "This course includes the following: You will run fifty meters on a partial asphalt track, scale a ten foot wall with a chain, climb up a two story ladder and then down a fire pole, where you soon after crawl for over twenty feet in a tightly cramped area on your chest. Once you have cleared that, you will endure low hanging, swinging logs that you will have to get past by rolling around in a small sized sand pit. No exceptions."

Kitty realized this course would not be easy in the least after hearing that mouthful.

"Is that it?" she asked, trying to keep her composure.

"No." the G.U.N Commander replied. "After you have gotten past the sand pit, you will come upon a dirt path with lightly colored circles in a tightly compacted rectangle formation, simulating land mines. You cannot step on more than two or you will be disqualified. As for the last two obstacles, you will have to cross a small ledge with a rope, where you then will deal with multiple laser light patterns to simulate gunfire. Get past that without getting hit by more than three of the lights, and there you will see the finish line immediately after."

"I can see now why Hope called this an advanced course." Kitty commented, placing her right hand under her chin.

"Indeed." He told her. "Now then, let's begin."

Moments later, lights from on top the ceiling near the starting line began to light up to signal the start. Kitty then got into position, placing a hand near the line to prepare to takeoff.

"You must wait until the lights turn green before moving one tip of your finger ahead of the line or you will be penalized five seconds." Commander Tower warned. "No mulligans or do overs."

Understood, sir." The tan feline replied with a firm nod. Moments later, Kitty took a deep breath, preparing to do what she did best.

Seconds later, the lights slowly changed from red to the first line of yellow. The tension within the room, especially in Hope, began to rise dramatically. Even now she couldn't help but wonder if she had gotten her new friend into a position where the tan feline would end biting off more than she could chew.

When it moved to the second line of yellow, Kitty dug her right hand even tighter into the ground, trying to get the maximum grip upon takeoff.

Finally, after a long pause, the lights changed to green.

Fortunately for Kitty, she used her discipline and previous training experience to time it well, racing off within .15 of a second. Even the Commander couldn't help but arch an eyebrow at how fast she got off the starting line without redlighting.

That though would be nothing compared to what he would see next. Being exceptionally well trained and having top notch feline speed, Kitty set a blistering pace in the fifty meter part of the course. It was even surprisingly on pace of all the time mark.

The tan feline continued to dumbfound those who looked on. Once she got to the wall, Kitty bended her knees as far as she could to get maximum height, where she then firmly grabbed the metal chain and climbed up the wall with almost relative ease.

Seconds later after getting past the wall, Kitty climbed up the two story ladder and down the fire pole as fast as she could, where she immediately got on her chest upon arriving at the hole, crawling into it with speed and precision.

"You gotta be kidding me…" Commander Tower muttered to himself while watching from the next room via video, now displaying arched eyebrows. After glancing at the official time, "This is her first attempt, and yet she's mastering it like she's done this before."

He then checked her sector times, which shocked him even more. They were still on pace for the all time record.

Hope meanwhile got deeply excited inside, thinking to herself, Kitty's going to do it! I can feel it. If she keeps up this pace, there's no stopping her.

Ten seconds later, the tan feline finally cleared that cramped area and soon ran towards the sand pit. As she did so, Kitty prepared to get maximum velocity in order to get a lot of momentum when rolling around in it.

Again, Kitty would continue to impress. She then jumped as high as she could into the air, where she soon tilted her body into a log position to roll through the thick sand pit as fast as she could, missing each log that came near by inches.

Commander Tower and Hope's body language would soon contrast once more. After Kitty cleared the sandpit within fifteen seconds and got back onto her feet, she ran as fast as she could towards the simulated land mine area. Thinking she would struggle with this part since most agents did, the G.U.N Commander now looked on with a smirk, expecting her to mess up due to the landmines being very tightly compacted together.

However, not only did Kitty not mess up, she actually appeared to be thriving. The split second she got there, the tan feline used her nimble cat feet to jump from each open space she could to the next, even carefully maintaining her balance in the process.

After she cleared it with almost little difficultly at all and ran towards the rope to swing across it, Hope immediately cheered with electrifying psyche, shouting in a near frenzy, "Go, Kitty!" "Break the record! I know you can do it!"

"I don't believe this…" the G.U.N Commander said, now beside himself, his jaw almost dropped completely while watching. "Who does this feline think she is, Catwoman? This is insane. Are you telling me a newcomer might actually break the record here on their first try?"

Not surprisingly, he knew he would look really bad if she broke the record and then shunned her immediately after.

"What an embarrassment for this agency…" Commander Tower muttered under his breath in disgust. "And to think this course was designed to separate the men and women from the boys and girls… Well, she still has one more daunting obstacle left. At the very least, she should encounter some form of difficulty from it that will slow her enough to make the current record stand."

Ironically, the G.U.N Commander would indeed be right this time. The moment the tan feline came upon the final obstacle, which was none other than the laser lights to simulate gunfire; her reaction to it was one that not only surprised Hope, but Abraham Tower too.

Kitty then saw five automatic machine guns mounted near the wall on her left as she ran, now aimed directly at her and ready to open fire. When that happened, the tan feline instantly lost her nerve and froze in place in a deep panic. Within seconds, the laser lights zapped her with ease, thus disqualifying her first run.

"Heh. So much for the awe inspiring run." Commander Tower said with a smirk. "I guess she's not so bulletproof after all."

Hope was instantly offended by his words, but soon ran towards her friend to find out what had happened.

After Kitty was back outside, the young female mechanic asked her with arched eyebrows, "Kitty, what's wrong? Why did you stop?"

Not surprisingly, the tan feline didn't answer at first, as she was very upset emotionally. There were even beads of sweat on her face, and they weren't due to her strenuous running.

"Kitty, please, I need to know." Hope reiterated firmly. "What happened to you in there?"

Realizing there was no other way around it, she told the female mechanic while trying to not hyperventilate, "When I saw those guns, I… got a dire flashback within the back of mind."

"What do you mean?" Hope inquired.

Again, the tan feline struggled to speak, eventually saying with a tear in her eye to explain it the best she knew how, "Dudley…"

Instantly, Hope figured it out, replying with a gasp, "That's right… he was attacked with machine guns."

Even now, she could sense Kitty was at the point of being deeply traumatized. It was then Hope realized her encounter with Snaptrap and his goons had affected her even more than she had originally thought possible.

"Kitty, why didn't you tell me you couldn't handle seeing machine guns?" the young female mechanic inquired of her. "You made me think you were able to handle it somewhat from our talks together."

Now deeply ashamed at her fake bravado, Kitty finally came clean, explaining, "I… put on an act while I was around you. I didn't want to admit how much this was bothering me because I didn't want to appear to be cowardly. I strive to uphold my reputation of being a tough female because that's what I want to be known for deep down."

"Kitty…" Hope now felt deep sympathy for her, replying, "If you had only talked to me about this earlier, we might have been able to do something to help you overcome this. I'm your good friend after all…"

Kitty knew Hope had a point. She had let her pride get in the way of dealing with her past emotions properly and was now paying for it in the exam.

"Well, Miss Katswell…" Commander Tower said, walking towards them with a subtle smug, yet professional look on his face. "If you are unable to run the course and want to drop out, I would fully understand. I mean, conquering it is no simple task after all."

That statement though only fueled Hope's desire to see him eat crow.

Hope then told her friend after briefly taking her aside, "Kitty, I don't want to upset you more or make you do something you're not comfortable with, but if you can complete this course, then please do so. I want to see you wipe that smug look off his face. I can't stand to see him win here after you were doing so well earlier."

Kitty too wanted to wipe that look off of his face. She soon said to the young female mechanic after taking a deep breath, "I'll give it another go for your sake. You deserve to get your money's worth after gambling so much on me."

Hope immediately smiled at her, as the tan feline turned back to the Commander and said, "I'd like my second attempt, sir. I should be able to finish this time."

Commander Tower let out of an arrogant huff in response, replying, "Very well then… I said you would have three attempts, and I shall honor that arrangement." He soon added with a frown, "Just don't make it a waste of my time."

Seconds later, Kitty returned to the starting line and prepared to try again, now more determined than before. Once the lights hit green, the tan feline instantly took off, trying to be even quicker than the last attempt.

Like before, the tan feline again set a blistering pace. Her sector times were even a bit faster than before thanks to having a better understanding of the course, as well as having a big chip on her shoulder.

"C'mon, Kitty, you can do it." Hope said with her hands folded together while she watched closely. "Just believe in yourself here and don't lose heart."

Sadly, the tan feline would indeed lose heart. Once she got to the part of the machine guns, her emotions again took control, paralyzing her once more with a deep and overwhelming fear that caused her to freeze in her tracks.

Within seconds, the laser lights hit her three times with ease, disqualifying her second attempt like the last one.

"This is getting ridiculous!" Commander Tower muttered. "How is it she can set the world on fire for 9/10 of the course, but cannot get past this last one? It maybe the most difficult part, but it can be done with a little trial and error." He then looked at Hope and told her, "I think it would be in your friend's best interest if she stopped now. Miss Katswell is just embarrassing herself by trying to do something she clearly is unable to do."

"No!" Hope protested. "You promised her three attempts, sir. You even gave your word you would uphold your end of the deal."

Realizing she had him there, he replied with another huff, "Fine, I'll give you two minutes to try and talk with her about it." He quickly left, adding while looking back at her, "But seriously, don't you think you should put her needs ahead of yours? Even I can see something is deeply troubling her now from completing the course."

In spite of the fact he had a point, Hope had too much on the line to give in to that notion. She would not let him and the others who wanted her friend to fail win if possible.

Seconds later, Hope again went to her feline friend. This time, she appeared to be even more shaken up than before.

"I can't do it…" the tan feline explained somberly while trying to keep her hyperventilating breathing in check. "Every time I see those guns, I see Dudley getting shot." She then added with a sob in her throat, "and I just can't handle it anymore. It's like reliving the same nightmare over and over."

"Kitty, it's ok." Hope told her with genuine sympathy while giving her a side hug with her right arm. "Don't beat yourself up over it. It's not your fault."

Deep down though, Kitty couldn't help but blame herself, saying to the young female mechanic with sorrow in her voice, "I'm sorry I even suggested you trying to get me a job here. All I did was get you to put you in a very awkward position. Now you're going to lose half of your income next month, and it's all my fault."

While Kitty laid her head low in self pity, Hope decided to try one last thing to try and help her, saying, "Kitty, if you believe in your heart of hearts that you can't complete this course, then I'll understand. But please… don't let your fears get the best of you here. This job was supposed to help get more of your memories back, remember?"

"Yes, but I won't even have a chance at getting the job if I can't get past those guns." Kitty argued. "And for now… I just can't make myself do it."

"Kitty, I want you to be honest with me here." Hope gently interrogated after a brief pause. "Is there any part of you that still wants to try and defeat your inner fears?"

Kitty now thought it over long and hard, soon replying softly, "Well… a small part of me strangely does want to try again and succeed, but I don't know if I can."

"Don't worry about that." The young female mechanic explained. "The point is, if you want to do this, then don't do it for my sake. Do it for yourself and your own peace of mind."

The tan feline was now in deep thought, as Hope added, "If not for yourself, do it for your best friend Dudley then. Surely he wouldn't want you to see you quit after getting this close."

Sadly, hearing his name again only upset her all the more, making the tan feline tear up in response. It was even now, a very touchy subject to her emotional state. The young female mechanic could clearly sense it by examining her body language.

Hope though tried one last attempt to motivate her in spite of her fresh emotional wounds, "If nothing else, then do it to get back at Snaptrap."

When Kitty heard his name, her tears instantly dried up, as she now gritted her teeth in rage. Even a vivid image of him laughing at her manically quickly flashed through her mind.

"Getting a job here is one of your best chances of getting your memory back so you can get home and administer justice." Hope explained, now trying to psyche her up. "Are you going to let him win and keep you here if you can prevent that from happening?"

"NO!" she answered with a fierce hiss. Kitty had answered this question to point of shouting it out loud. She was now deeply enraged inside at the thought of it. "I will not let him beat me here. That vile rat will pay dearly if it's the last thing I do!"

"Well, if you really want to get back at him, then you know what you have to do." Hope reiterated.

Indeed Kitty did, as Hope quickly added with firm resolve, "You can beat this course. You and I both know it. All you need to do is just buckle down and get the job done."

The tan feline quickly nodded her head, telling the young mechanic with fire in her eyes, "Ok, let's do it."

And with that statement, she walked over to the Commander who was about to tell them the two minutes was up, telling him instead, "Sir, I'm ready for my last attempt now."

"Are you sure about that?" the G.U.N Commander inquired with arched eyebrows. "I mean, you looked pretty shaky near the end the last two times."

"It won't happen again, Commander." Kitty replied, now giving him the boldest facial expression she could muster. "This is not just about getting a job here anymore, but righting a wrong from my past."

Not surprisingly, Commander Tower said after a long and awkward pause, "Very well then… But if you blow it here, you are done. No more excuses. Do you understand me?"

"Loud and clear, sir." The tan feline answered, saluting with her right hand. "Set up the course again. I shall not disappoint this time."

Seconds later, Kitty returned to the starting line, as the course was now set up again. She then thought to herself with a firm look on her face, Snaptrap, you will not stop me from completing this obstacle course. No matter how long it takes, you will answer soon enough for what you've done to me and Dudley!

Twenty five seconds later, the course was set up and ready to go. As before, the lights on top of the ceiling soon lit up, starting with the red. Kitty watched them closely while gritting her teeth in the process.

After it slowly changed from both lines of yellow to green, the tan feline took off for the third time at full speed. This time, it was conquer or bust.

Like the last two attempts, Kitty continued to set her blistering pace, completing each task that was set in front of her from before with very little difficulty. Even the tough minefield part of the course, the tan feline didn't lose a beat, again using her nimble cat feet to jump from each small space in front of her to the next, where she then continued to the next part of the course, which was swinging past the small ledge with a rope.

After she breezed past the ledge, her last and most daunting task soon came in front of her again… the five machine guns.

When she saw them vividly, Kitty's fears again began to strongly manifest within her body. It even almost made her stop again. Nevertheless, she vowed to not let it beat her this time and continued her usual pace.

I will conquer this task, she told herself firmly in her mind as she sprinted towards it. For the sake of my friends at T.U.F.F and Hope, I will not stop until I finally achieve victory.

Moments later, the mounted machine guns from the wall on the left side again aimed their laser lights at the tan feline in their usual shooting patterns, trying to take her down for the third time.

This time though, Kitty kept her fears in check, using her feline agility and instincts to her advantage. When the two waves of laser lights attempted to hit her in the chest, she immediately leaped completely over both of them.

The next two waves of laser lights however immediately charged direction, now attempting to hit the feline agent while she was still in mid air. But again, it would all be for naught. Kitty quickly adjusted her direction in the process, moving her feet to the right side upon landing, soon running past it to miss the attack entirely.

The last wave of laser lights meanwhile would put her in a small bind, as they adjusted even faster than before, now placing its angle directly in front of her after moving over to the far right. So much in fact, the tan feline barely saw it in time.

Hope now looked on with deep anticipation and fear while watching this part, as she was very worried inside the last one would unfortunately get Kitty and ruin her remaining chance to pass.

Kitty however didn't lose her composure when facing this last obstacle. Instead, she let her razor sharp reflexes and intellect take over. Realizing there was only way of getting past of it, which was slide underneath on the far left of the lights to evade; the tan feline did just that. She immediately slid feet first into a baseball styled slide at a sharp left angle, even getting her entire body as low as possible on the ground in the process.

Hope's heart rate instantly went up while watching this part, fearing she wouldn't make it. Thankfully though, Kitty not only made it past successfully, she didn't even come within an inch of touching the lights.

Once she saw her feline friend make it past the last batch of laser lights untouched, Hope's emotional reaction instantly changed from fear to overwhelming joy. She actually pulled it off! The young female mechanic thought to herself with a big smile on her face. I don't believe it. Kitty conquered her fears.

A split second later, Kitty quickly stood up on her own two feet and then crossed the finish line up ahead as quickly as she could, entering the area with authority and triumph in her body language.

Hope meanwhile jumped up and down with elation, shouting, "Way to go, Kitty! You did it! You did it!"

As for Commander Tower and the soldiers nearby, they could not help but look on speechless. The tan feline had now come and conquered their course with almost relative ease.

The G.U.N Commander was almost hesitant to ask for her time, but did anyway, where he soon saw it on a big screen near their viewing area. She had completed his course under a minute, at precisely 58.75 seconds.

"She was within three seconds of the all time record." One of his soldiers commented dumbfounded. "And this was only her third try."

Commander Tower then heard the line he knew was coming, which was from another solider, stating, "I gotta say, sir, even if we don't like the Mobian species, you'd be foolish to not hire this one. To beat this course in under a minute with partial amnesia too I recalled correctly… that is nothing short of pure talent."

In spite of the fact he did not appreciate those words one iota, Commander Tower knew this solider was right. Instead, he gritted his teeth in disgust, realizing this feline had completely made him eat a huge dose of humble pie.

Hope meanwhile ran towards Kitty near the finish line and jumped into her arms with deep joy, saying overwhelmed while flashing a big smile on her face, "You did it! You beat this course and even almost broke the track record too! I'm so proud of you!"

While the tan feline was taken aback somewhat by her abrupt sign affection, she couldn't help but be deeply touched by Hope's genuine praise. She even flashed a smile back at her in response.

Ten seconds later, after Hope let go and was on her own two feet again, Commander Tower walked out to talk with Kitty. To put it lightly, he was not looking forward to this one bit.

Nevertheless, he said with a clearing of his throat, "Well, Miss Katswell… you uh, really were something out there. Only a handful of recruits have been able to complete the course in under a minute."

"Does this mean she's hired, sir?" Hope asked, looking at him intently.

"Well, not exactly…" he answered with hesitation.

"What?" Both Hope and Kitty looked at him deeply perplexed. "What do you mean, not exactly?" the young female mechanic demanded, trying to keep her tone respectful.

"I mean, I'm going to have to think it over before deciding." Commander Tower told her. "You shouldn't be surprised. I even told I would if she did somehow amaze me."

"But, sir, surely you can see now Kitty has raw talent to be able to complete this course so effortlessly." Hope argued. "What other doubts could there about her?"

"Look, there's more to being a G.U.N agent than just mastering an obstacle course." He replied with authority. "I'm not going to hire someone on the spot just because they show a lot of promise. That's only the foundation for even being considered a candidate."

As much as it pained Hope to hear that, she knew he was right in that regard.

He then added, trying not to show his obvious prejudice for Mobians to her and the others standing nearby, "Anyway, give me the rest of the day to think it over. Be at my office tomorrow at 11am. There, I will give you my official decision."

"Very well then, Commander…" The young female mechanic said with a disappointed sigh.

Moments later, she and Kitty slowly walked away from the room. However, before Hope left completely, she looked back at him and said, "With all due respect, sir, I did put a lot on the line to prove to you Kitty wasn't a waste of your time. Since I was proven right about that, I really hope you'll be absolutely fair when coming up with your final decision about hiring her or not."

"Rest assured, Miss Kintobar," CommanderTower replied with a straight face,

"I will do my best to do just that. After all, it is never my intention to turn away any potential talent from this group if possible."

Not surprisingly, Hope didn't believe a word of it. Instead, she couldn't help but be very suspicious inside that his words had a double meaning to them. Nevertheless, she said to him with a nod, "Ok then, Commander. I'll trust you on that."

And with that statement, she left the room to join her feline friend.

After they were out of sight, a solider asked the Commander, "You really don't want to hire her, do you, sir?"

"No, I don't…" CommanderTower answered, looking at him with full blown frown. "But sadly, I don't believe I'll be able to turn her away and not have it hurt my reputation. The fact she even beat this obstacle course in under a minute only puts me in a deeper bind."

"Sir, even if you do deeply dislike the Mobian race, why not employ more of them into our ranks for nothing more than furthering the might of G.U.N?" the same solider suggested. "It couldn't hurt."

"G.U.N shouldn't have to have to obtain that might by such a crude method of utilizing these disgusting mutated animals as part of our army." The G.U.N Commander answered with a harsh mutter. "Humans and Overlanders, whether those Mobians will ever admit it, are the superior race of this planet. The sooner they realize that, the better."

"Um, not disagreeing with you here on that last point, sir, but these creatures are helping us in the fight against that vile terrorist known as Eggman." The solider explained. "Surely they're not completely useless as a species."

Commander Tower let out another harsh huff in response, replying, "Whatever… I plan on dealing with Eggman and his constant antics in the very near future." He then added with a fierce glare, "If any group is going to administer the lethal blow to that mad man's organization and take him out permanently, it's going to be the elite G.U.N army, not the Acorn Republic or any other Mobian governing body. I will personally see to that."


	3. Team Dark

That same night after work, Hope returned to her home, though a little later than usual, as she had stopped by to pick up a few items from the local Central City grocery store.

She then greeted her feline friend while walking in the door, "Kitty, I'm home."

Kitty, who had been in the living room at the time, soon came into the kitchen while the young female mechanic was putting two bags on the table, saying softly in response, "There you are… I was starting to wonder why you didn't come home sooner."

"Sorry, I went food shopping on my home." Hope explained sheepishly.

"Well, why didn't you tell me that then?" Kitty inquired with arched eyebrows. "I wouldn't have minded."

"Because…" Hope answered with a beaming smile on her face, "I wanted to surprise you."

"Surprise me?" the tan feline now looked on deeply confused, asking further, "What do you mean?"

"You'll see soon enough… I have to cook it first." The young female mechanic explained. "It shouldn't take more than a half hour."

Kitty's curiosity however got the best of her, as she quickly headed towards the bag and checked the contents. Hope meanwhile tried to stop her and take the bag out of her reach, but it was too little too late. By the time her hand went for it, she saw what Hope had picked up.

"Trout? Farm fresh milk? What's all this for?" the tan feline inquired, now looking at each item peculiarly.

"It's for you, silly…" Hope answered with a slight giggle.

"Me? Why?"

"To celebrate your amazing accomplishment today, Kitty." The female mechanic told her. "What else?"

By this point, Kitty couldn't help but feeling deeply touched at her thoughtfulness. Nevertheless, she said with hesitance in response, "But, I don't even know for sure if I have the job or not."

Hope then walked towards the tan feline and gently grabbed her right wrist with genuine affection, replying, "Whether or not you get this job is not the point. The point is, you overcame your fears and made me very proud today." She then added with another smile on her face, "You took another big step forward in your progress of returning to your old self, and that is very commendable as far as I'm concerned."

Kitty's eyes immediately welled up from her words, saying with a sniffle while wiping the tears from them, "Oh, Hope… thank you. I… don't know what to say."

"It's ok." She answered her feline friend with a slight giggle. "There's no need to say anything. I just want you to enjoy the special meal I'm going to make for you tonight."

Kitty again was at a loss words. Hope then said to her after letting go of her wrist and clasping her hands together, "Now then, why don't you go sit down on the couch and relax? Allow me to cook this meal myself for you."

"But, aren't you tired from a hard day's work?" the tan feline inquired.

"It doesn't matter." The young female mechanic answered with a shake of her head. "Tonight, you've earned this special treat and I'm going to see to it that you get it."

After Hope put it that way, Kitty decided to not argue anymore about it and do as she was told. Even so, she said while heading back to the living room couch, "If you need any help with the cooking, I'd be more than happy to give you a hand."

"You just have a seat there and prepare to enjoy the meal you'll soon be eating, Miss Katswell." Hope told her in an authorative, yet playful tone of voice. "You hear me?"

"Oh, I'm sure I will…" Kitty replied, using the same tone of voice. "I bet it won't be long before I can smell it from where I'm sitting."

Almost on the dot of thirty minutes, the food was done and ready to be served, as Hope now placed it on the table in two plates, including a big glass of milk near each one.

"Dinner's on!" she announced loudly. "Come and get it."

Kitty didn't have to be told twice, as she quickly got up from the couch and sat down on the right side of the table, now deeply inhaling the scent of freshly cooked trout on her plate.

"Wow, this smells really good." The tan feline commented softly.

"The smell will pale in comparison in how it tastes if my cooking skills have anything to say about it." Hope retorted with a playful rib. "Well, don't just stand there… dig in."

Kitty would indeed do that just. She soon picked up her fork nearby the plate and jabbed a piece of the fish onto its prongs, soon clamping down on it firmly in her mouth.

As Hope expected, it did taste better than it smelled. The tan feline then commented with a look of awe, "Wow… this tastes heavenly. It might even be the best grilled fish I ever ate."

"It should be." The young female mechanic replied with a giggle. "I paid good money to get you the best quality of seafood I could find."

Kitty almost dropped her fork upon hearing that, asking with perplexion on her face, "You paid top dollar for this?"

Hope instantly nodded her head in response. Kitty meanwhile asked further while the young female mechanic took a bite of hers, "But, why did you feel the need to do that? I would have been content with having regular salmon since I'm a cat after all."

"I know that, silly." Hope answered. "But like I said, you earned it today, so I didn't mind doing this for you."

After a long pause, Kitty eventually stated with a hesitation chuckle, "You know, you're really spoiling me here a little too much. I mean, I know completing that course was difficult and all, but I'm starting to feel a bit overwhelmed by all of this royal treatment of yours. If I didn't know any better, I actually am starting to think there's another reason for you being so generous to me now."

Ironically, the tan feline had hit the nail on the head, as Hope instantly looked away in silence. Her reaction was so abrupt, Kitty almost felt like she had deeply offended her.

"Hope, did I say something wrong here?" Kitty inquired with slight guilt on her face. "I didn't mean to upset you or anything."

Hope though shook her head after a long pause in response, replying, "Actually, Kitty, I do have a bit of a confession to make to you now."

"Oh? Like what?"

The young female mechanic then took a deep breath, explaining after exhaling, "Remember when I said don't conquer your fears for my sake, but for yours?"

"Yes, what about it?" Kitty asked.

"Well, the truth of the matter is… I wasn't being completely honest about that." Hope replied, again turning her head in shame. "You see… one of the biggest reasons I pushed you a bit after you failed the second time is because I really didn't want to lose half of my income for the next month."

Kitty was now in deep thought, as she didn't know what to think about this. Hope then continued her speech, adding, "That was very wrong on my part. I saw how upset and deeply disturbed you were emotionally, but the main thing I sadly admit I cared about mostly at that time was my paycheck."

"But you told me to do it for my friends and to get back at Snaptrap." The tan feline argued. "How is that being selfish on your part?"

Hope again was silent inside, as she soon explained with another sigh, "Actually, that was mostly a front on my part. I basically used that for the sole purpose of hoping to motivate you again so you would give it another try."

"But it did the job." Kitty reiterated. "You helped me get my head back in the game. I should be thanking you because you got me reinvigorated to complete the task at hand." She then added softly, "Besides, we both silenced that air headed Commander of yours as well. That was worth it if you ask me."

"It was worth it in the end, no doubt…" the young female mechanic replied with a nod, "Still, I felt very guilty afterwards for not putting your needs ahead of mine. And for that, I in a sense bought you this trout and milk as a way of saying I'm sorry for being inconsiderate of your feelings."

The tan feline soon pondered her words over intently, as Hope eventually added with a look of sorrow on her face, "Can you ever forgive me, Kitty?"

Kitty didn't even answer her. Instead, she slowly gave her a warm smile, replying softly "Of course… with you being so good to me since the day we met, I couldn't possibly hold a grudge against you over one little offense."

Hope soon smiled back at her as well, saying, "Let's promise to always put each other's needs first, even if it might hurt a lot."

"Agreed." Kitty answered with a nod.

The tan feline then resumed eating the rest of her delicious trout.

After a couple more bites were eaten, Kitty asked, trying to lighten the mood again, "So, should I get hired here, what position do you think the Commander would assign to me?"

"Well, what kind of work at G.U.N would you want to do?" Hope asked her.

Kitty soon furrowed her brow and thought it over, eventually answering, "Believe it or not, while I made my way to the G.U.N training room, a couple of military vehicles I saw from another part of the facility caught my eye, particularly the ones with the big robotic legs."

"You mean the Walkers that hover in the air and shoot plasma beams from a mounted cannon near the cockpit?" Hope inquired further.

"Yea, that's the one." The tan feline replied with a nod. "Those looked really cool to pilot. If possible, I'd like to learn how to operate one since they seem like a very powerful weapon to utilize."

"Yes, they are indeed..." the young female mechanic reiterated."I'll talk to the Commander about perhaps letting you train with one if you get hired. No promises though…"

"Understood." Kitty said in response.

After a long pause of silence, Hope stated while looking at her plate, "Actually, if you do get a job here, I have a strong inkling the Commander is going to assign you as a new member of Team Dark."

"Team Dark?" Kitty's eyebrows instantly furrowed, asking of her, "Why that unit particularly?"

"That's the name of the Mobian team here at G.U.N." Hope explained. "Since he sadly is very prejudiced against the Mobian race, he'll more than likely put you there to keep you out of his hair."

Not surprisingly, Kitty couldn't deny she was right about this. She then commented after thinking it over, "That name seems a bit on the evil side if you ask me."

"Yes, I do think so too." The young female mechanic reiterated. "But, that's the name Rouge the bat insisted on calling the group."

"Rouge the bat? Would she by any chance be one of the two Mobians you mentioned earlier G.U.N hired due to being very skilled individual?"

Hope again nodded her head, replying, "That is correct. Rouge is the leader of the group. She's also very skilled and one of our best agents here at G.U.N."

Before Kitty could respond at all to this new information, the young female mechanic quickly added with a sullen sigh, "Although, she unfortunately has a tendency to be shady at times, even putting her own priorities ahead of this organization's if push comes to shove."

"Um, why are you telling me all of this?" the tan feline inquired with deep curiosity, looking at her intently. "I mean, we don't even know where I'm going to be stationed, let alone get a job there."

"Call it hunch," Hope explained softly, "but the more I look at the scenario from today, the more inside of me believes that Team Dark is where you most likely end up if the Commander hires you."

Kitty now pondered this over very deeply, as she couldn't help but think Hope would indeed be proven right. With the Commander being very anti-Mobian, that position of possible employment was sadly looking very possible to her at the moment.

"Anyway," Hope added after a long period of silence, "Don't let what I told you damper your evening. You may be right and could be assigned somewhere else. I was just giving you a little heads up here as a precaution. Might as well be prepared either way, right?"

"Yea, that is true…" the tan feline replied in agreement with a nod.

"Besides, even if you do end up there, I happen to be a good friend with the second Mobian member there." The young female explained. "I'll ask him as a personal favor to help you out should you become a member of the team."

"Who is this second Mobian member by the way?" Kitty inquired, now strangely wanting to know more about Team Dark. "And how did you gain his friendship with him being an outcast of Central City anyhow?"

"I'll tell you about more about it some other time." Hope replied firmly. "Right now, I want you to enjoy your meal and not worry about tomorrow too much. We'll cross that bridge together when we come to it, ok?"

Not surprisingly, Kitty was a bit perplexed by how abrupt Hope had ended their discussion, but decided to comply with it nonetheless, replying with a slight nod, "Well, ok then. If you say so…"

However, as she ate the rest of her dinner, the tan feline couldn't help but think over long and hard what tomorrow would bring.

I wonder why Hope didn't want to tell me more about this other Mobian member of G.U.N, Kitty thought to herself. Could it be there's another secret from her past she doesn't want to share with me about? Or, is it really just possible she really wants me to relax and not stress myself out about tomorrow?

Deep down, Kitty didn't know for sure. One thing was certain though… she would not be able to enjoy her evening ironically due to Hope telling her all of this during their meal together. This new information instead would buzz around in her head like a swarm of hornets for the rest of the night.

* * *

That same night at Eggman's base, one of the final pieces of the puzzle for his next assault on the Acorn Republic would soon be in place.

After pondering over some new information he received via hisDELmembers, the mad doctor stated with a grin while rubbing his hands together, "Ah… so the last Chaos Emerald needed to power my Death Egg II is in this zone. Well, with my brilliant mind and tactics, it shouldn't be too hard to extract. All I need is a suitable stooge to be the bait for that big galoot of a bear while finding it and it'll be a cinch to retrieve."

To no one's surprise, the "bait" he would end up choosing would be none other than his disgruntled nephew. Eggman then left his quarters and went to find him, only to soon discover the small lackey had been near the door after it had opened for the mad doctor to exit from.

Instantly, Snively jumped back startled, as he was not expecting to see Eggman appear that quickly.

"Were you snooping on me again?" he demanded of him.

"N-n-no." the small lackey replied hesitantly. "I-I was just checking on some outlets nearby to make sure they were fully working."

Eggman though didn't believe a word of it, but decided to let it go nonetheless, saying to Snively instead with a huff, "Never mind… Anyway, I was just heading out to talk with you."

"What about, sir?" Snively inquired, trying to play dumb.

"Why, to help me find another Chaos Emerald, my assistant." The mad doctor answered with a sly grin, putting his arm around him. "After all, I could use someone of your special expertise for this particular assignment."

Snively knew what he meant by that, so he replied softly with fake respect, "I appreciate the thought, sir, but I believe I wouldn't be of much help here."

"Oh, don't be silly…" Eggman retorted, using the same tone of voice with him as before. "For this line of work, there is no one better at it than you are."

Snively though declined again with hypocritical respect, saying, "I'm afraid I'll have to take a rain check on that, sir. As much as I'm honored you would select me here, I have too much on my plate now in getting your Death Egg II ready for launch."

"Oh, is that so?" Eggman then glared at him angrily, interrogating while leaning his face close towards his lackey's, "Well, maybe I'll just play back the tape on my video screen instead on how you were using electronic equipment to record my every word in my quarters."

Snively again shrieked in shock, as the mad doctor quickly added with a fierce look on his face, "Would you rather I dealt with your little convoluted scheme of trying to gain an advantage over me and gave you what for on the spot? I'd be glad to do that instead if you like."

After hearing that, the small lackey quickly nodded his head with deep fear, replying hesitantly, "That won't be necessary, your lordship. I'll gladly help you with this task by any means possible when you put it that way."

Eggman then thumped his nose again for the fun of it, stating afterwards with a smug grin on his face, "Excellent, I knew you'd see things my way."

While Snively put his hands on his face to settle his vibrating nose down, the mad doctor soon added while walking away, "Be ready to depart by 9am tomorrow. Together, we shall finally get the last gem needed to take over New Mobotropolis and finally take out that wretched hedgehog once and for all!"

Once Eggman was out of sight, Snively quickly jumped up and down in disgust, muttering under his breath with a hiss, "That rotten tub of lard! No matter what I do, I can never get the better of him! I'm getting so sick of this!"

It was at that moment, the small lackey realized there was only sure fire way to finally get his revenge on the mad doctor who had tormented day after day… he would need allied forces at his arsenal.

"Since I can't beat Eggman on my own, I'll have to get some help then to see it happen." He concluded with a sly grin on his face while brainstorming, "And I think I know just the one who can help me turn the tide."

Deep down though, he didn't want to use this particular individual for that sole purpose alone since he did personally care about her. Nevertheless, Snively knew there were no better options at the moment. He then said, trying to appear to be humane and thoughtful, "I'll make this worth her while if she does decide to help me. After all, I wouldn't dare use her just to gain an advantage, especially since we do have a special connection together, even if we aren't on speaking terms at the moment."

* * *

The following morning at G.U.N HQ at 11am, Kitty and Hope arrived in the Commander's office to hear his official decision.

The split second they entered through his door, both of them saw his stony face. It was obvious the decision he was about to make was not one he wanted to do in the least.

"Have a seat, you two." He told them gruffly.

After they did so, the G.U.N Commander looked them firmly in the eye and stated with a heavy sigh, "As you well know, I have come to a decision regarding Miss Katswell's performance."

Kitty now leaned in intently, as he added, "After giving this matter a lot of thought and getting some wise counsel as well, I have concluded that Miss Katswell here did indeed pulled off quite a feat in our training facility yesterday."

"So, does that mean she has a job here, sir?" Hope inquired, now leaning in as well.

The G.U.N Commander again sighed heavily, eventually replying with a sullen nod, "Yes."

Instantly, Kitty and Hope simultaneously let out a low squeal of delight, even looking at each other with a big smile on their faces.

Commander Tower though abruptly got their attention, reiterating sharply to them with a frown, "I'm not finished speaking yet! Keep your attention on me if you know what's good for you."

Not wanting to risk anything, they did just that. After a long pause, the G.U.N Commander added while clearing his throat, "Anyway, before you jump to any conclusions here, Miss Katswell, or should I now say Agent Katswell here, will be getting one more evaluation from another supervisor before becoming an official agent of this team."

"But, sir, you just said she got the job." Hope argued. "How can she not be an official agent then?"

"Because I want to see more before handing her an official badge." The G.U.N Commander shot back, now crossing his arms together. Before Hope could argue again, he added, "As I said, there's a lot more to being an agent of ours than just mastering a training facility. What she does under fire is what I really want to see. How will she handle should someone like Eggman invade our city? Will she thrive under pressure, or will she crack and panic? That is the bottom line as far as I'm concerned."

Kitty could not argue with that assessment one iota, in spite of the fact she wasn't happy by his prejudiced treatment at all.

The Commander then said, now looking the tan feline in the eye, "I'm going to give a temporary badge, good for one week here. During that time, your actions will be monitored by the supervisor you'll be assigned to. If they like what they see from you, I'll have them sign some paperwork, signifying you're good enough to be an official agent. If not… well, you get the picture."

"And, who will be her supervisor, Commander?" the young female mechanic inquired.

Hope's intuition from the night before would be proven correct. As if he was reading her mind, Commander Tower answered without a split second's hesitation, "I'm going to have her assigned to Agent Rouge."

"In other words, she's a member of Team Dark now." Hope concluded. "Am I right?"

"You are indeed." The G.U.N Commander told her bluntly with a nod. "Since I don't want to waste any of my elite agent's time with this feline, I'm assigning her to one that will know better than any whether or not she's worth being part of this elite core."

"But, sir, Agent Rouge isn't exactly known to be the most fair and unbiased individual." The young female mechanic protested. "Don't you think Kitty should be under the careful watch of someone who actually is more of an honest evaluator?"

To neither of their surprise, he answered bluntly again to them, "That is not my problem, nor my concern. Agent Katswell is the one on trial here. If she really is as good of an agent as you keep claiming she is, winning Rouge's respect shouldn't be too difficult for her to do at all."

Hope now slumped in her seat in bitter disappointment. She had a strong feeling this would happen, and sure enough, she was proven right.

Kitty however didn't lose her composure at all when being told this, but instead answered firmly to Abraham Tower, "Rest assured, Commander, I shall indeed win this person's respect within the week. Wait and see."

Commander Tower though subtly scoffed at her, replying with a huff, "You sure know how to talk big, don't you Agent Katswell? Well, you've backed it so far, so I guess you have to right to brag on yourself a little bit." He then added, pointing a finger from his right hand at her, "Just a quick head's up… don't get a big head here. It won't take much for me to fire you if you screw up. I already don't like the idea of having you onboard, but I'll give you your chance to prove me wrong just to show you I'm a very fair individual."

In spite of the fact she knew he was not being honest here, Kitty resisted the urge to counter him, stating instead with a nod, "You won't be sorry you hired me, sir. I will prove that to you overtime as well."

"Yes, well…" with a clearing of his throat, he eventually said to them while looking at a file on his desk, "Anyway, unless you have any important questions, please escort yourself out my office. I'll have Team Dark arrive at the base within the next five to ten minutes to escort Agent Katswell to her next assignment."

"Actually, sir, I do have a question." Hope said. "Well, more like a request to be precise."

The G.U.N Commander slowly looked up at her, eventually replying with an out of patience look, "Yes…?"

"Well, would it be too much trouble to ask for Agent Katswell to get someWalkertraining here at G.U.N HQ?"

"Walker training?" Commander Tower now looked her intently in the eye, inquiring further, "And what do you mean by that exactly?"

"You know, if she could learn on how to operate the G.U.N Walkers." Hope reiterated, trying to keep her tone respectful. "Kitty here has expressed some interest in them, so would it be ok with you if she got some training in one of those vehicles?"

The G.U.N Commander though stood up with a full blown frown on his face, replying with a look of rebuke, "Are you nuts? You actually think I would let this feline test one of those multimillion dollar machines of ours? Absolutely not!"

"But, sir, what could it hurt to let her try the simulator?" the young female mechanic argued. "She already showed you she could do your obstacle course with limited experience, so why not here as well?"

"Because I'm not going to waste my staff's time watching her bungle up trying to operate it." He answered sharply. "Those G.U.N Walkers are not toys. It's a very delicate and difficult machine to pilot them efficiently."

"But, Commander…"

"This discussion is closed, Agent Kintobor." He then reiterated while pointing a finger at the door, now even more shaper in tone. "You and Agent Katswell are to wait out in the hall until Team Dark arrives. Do you understand me?"

Kitty now stood up, saying to her friend softly before she could make the situation even worse, "C'mon, Hope, let's go. There's no point in arguing about it. His mind is made up."

After hearing that, Hope finally relinquished as well, replying to the Commander, "Fine, I shall do as you requested, sir. See you later."

And with that statement, both of them walked out.

Not surprisingly, Hope was more steamed about it than Kitty, muttering softly to her feline friend with a hiss about ten feet from his door, "That jerk… he just can't stop showing his obvious hatred for Mobians. No, he has to make that point loud and clear!"

"Don't let it get to you." The tan feline told her. "I'll just have to make him eat another helping of crow I guess."

Hope slowly looked up at Kitty in response, saying to her with a frown, "I'm actually surprised you didn't get more upset about his poor treatment of you. I mean, he stuck you with Agent Rouge on purpose because he knows only a selected few have ever won her respect, or friendship might I add."

"It doesn't matter." Kitty reiterated. "I don't care how tough or biased this Rouge is, but if she wants to see that I'm the real deal indeed, then I'll bring it."

Hope again couldn't help but be inspired by Kitty's toughness. She then said, now composing herself, "Anyway, like I said, I'll have my Mobian friend on her team try and be a fair mediator incase Rouge gives you a really bad time."

"You mind telling me who this Mobian friend of yours by the way?" the tan feline inquired, looking at the young female mechanic intently. "You never told me his name."

Realizing there was no point in hiding it from her anymore, Hope finally told her, stating with a sigh, "His name is Shadow."

"Shadow, eh?" Kitty placed a hand under her chin, inquiring further, "Tell me, how is it you got to be friends with him?"

Hope though wasn't ready to tell the whole story to her just yet, replying instead, "Well, I did spend some time at Knothole, don't forget. I just got to know him after awhile and we became mutual friends."

Kitty now asked her a tough question, "So, how many Mobians are you friends with exactly?"

"To be honest, I made quite a few during my stay in Knothole." The young female mechanic explained. After a long pause, she added, "But since I moved here, the only ones I've really kept in any contact with whatsoever besides Shadow is Princess Sally, and that's only to get updates on the condition of her kingdom."

"I see…"

Before Hope could say another word, Commander Tower abruptly stepped out of his office, saying to them with a frustrated sigh, "Ok, apparently Team Dark is going to be a bit late arriving here due to being in the middle of an "important mission" according to Rouge, so I'll tell you what… I'll allow Agent Katswell one brief trial run on theWalkersimulator in the meantime."

"Really, sir?" Hope inquired, now smiling at him.

"Yes." He answered with another out of patience sigh. "I might as well put this new agent of mine to the test if she really means business about being part of our elite core."

Kitty now also smiled at this news, that is until the Commander told her with once he looked in her direction, "Just a FYI though… if you fail the test one time, you will not be allowed to try again until after you pass your exam with Agent Rouge. Understood?"

The tan feline firmly nodded her head in response, telling him with a salute with her with right hand, "Loud and clear, sir."

And with that statement, she and Hope walked follow Commander Tower to the room where the simulator was being kept.

* * *

To no one's surprise, except for the Commander's and the staff who operated the device, Kitty quickly got the hang of piloting the G.U.N Walker simulator within a minute. So much in fact, that she was even able to do complete several levels before the inexperience of fully knowing its ins and outs caught up to her.

By Level 5, the difficulty within the mission became too much for the tan feline to handle, thus she failed halfway through its course.

Nevertheless, her ability to venture that far on her first try again raised many eyebrows within the room. Even Commander Tower could not but admit deep down that she was not just another rookie recruit.

No, there was something very unique about her, something that made him realize she may indeed be a diamond in the rough. But, he wasn't about to tell her that due to his pride and prejudice.

Moments later, Kitty exited the cockpit of the simulator. Ironically, she was more bummed out than satisfied with her trial run, eventually commenting with a frown to Hope, "Shoot… I just got swamped on that last level. It was like the difficulty was anted up ten fold."

"Kitty, you have nothing to be ashamed about." The young female mechanic told her with a beaming smile. "Hardly any solider here has ever gotten that far on their first try."

"Really? I did that well?" the tan feline inquired, still not convinced.

"Yes." Hope answered with a nod. "I don't know if you realized it, but Level 5 is halfway of the entire simulator's program. Since the difficulty level from that point on is set for Expert, it's no surprise you struggled with it your first time."

Kitty then turned her head to see the look on the Commander's face. As expected, his reaction was more of being silenced by another solid performance he couldn't criticize than giving a gesture of a job well done.

Nevertheless, the tan feline's spirits remained high, as she took pride in the fact the Commander had to eat more crow about her abilities.

Moments later, Commander Tower attempted to walk over and say a politically correct line to Kitty in order to not look bad in front of those who were in the room. But, he never got the chance. Instead, a G.U.N solider entered the room a split second before he could, announcing with a salute, "Sir, Team Dark has arrived."

"Ah, excellent…" the G.U.N Commander replied, now relieved he didn't have to say anything to her."Have them meet us near the back entrance of this building. We'll be there very shortly."

"As you wish, Commander." He answered.

And with that statement, the solider turned and walked away.

"The back entrance of G.U.N HQ…? Why there, Commander?" Hope inquired, deeply puzzled.

"You'll see soon enough." Commander Tower answered. He then looked over at Kitty, telling her, "Ok, let's go. I'm on a tight schedule here, so let's get on with the introductions to your new team already."

Kitty quickly nodded her head in agreement, as she slowly followed him out of the room.

Hope also followed them out as well. When the Commander saw her do this, he told the young female mechanic, "I'll escort your friend from here on out. Please return to your station, Agent Kintobor."

Hope though wouldn't budge, replying, "I'd like to go with you, sir."

"And why is that, pray tell?" the G.U.N Commander inquired, looking at her with arched eyebrows.

"Because… I need to speak with Shadow about something important." She explained to him sheepishly.

"Shadow? What could you possibly need to talk to him about?" he demanded with a frown.

"I rather not discuss it here, Commander." Hope answered. "It's actually a personal matter."

Commander Tower quickly glared at her intently after hearing that, even causing Hope to be a bit flustered from his harsh look. Nevertheless, she said softly after a brief pause, "Please, sir, allow me this one favor since I have made Agent Katswell worth your time."

With a heavy sigh and look of disgust, he reluctantly gave in, replying, "Very well… but this will be the last favor I'll grant you for awhile. From this moment on, you and Agent Katswell will not be allowed to spend any leisure time together during work hours for any reason at G.U.N HQ. You two now have jobs that I expect you to give your full attention to. No excuses. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal, Commander." Hope answered with a nod.

And so, with a look of allowance on his face, Commander Tower escorted Kitty and Hope to the back of the building.

Once they were near the door, Hope asked with deep curiosity, "Can you at least tell me why you wanted Team Dark to meet Kitty here?"

"Like I said, Agent Kintobor," Commander Tower replied. "You'll find out soon enough."

Seconds later, he pushed the doors open, and there Kitty saw her new comrades near the bottom of the steps for the first time. To put it lightly, she looked at them very peculiarly.

So... that's Team Dark. Kitty thought to herself, furrowing her brow. Well, they do fit their name I have to say. All three of them look dark in stature.

Rouge meanwhile finally spoke up as they made their way down the stairs, commenting with a smirk on her face, "Well, well, Commander… we've met in some strange locations for our assignments, but this one I think is near the top if you ask me."

Since she was the only female of the group, Kitty quickly concluded that this white bat had to be Rouge.

"Yes, yes, I'm aware of that…" Commander Tower replied nonchalantly. "But, this assignment won't be like the others at all."

"Oh? You got something special in mind for us this time, sir?" the renegade bat inquired with a look of deep intrigue on her face.

"Eh, not exactly." He answered. "I actually need you to train a new recruit of ours and show them the ropes here at G.U.N."

"A new recruit…? Why that job in particular?" Rouge asked with a frown, her hands at her sides. "Don't you have specialized agents for that kind of stuff?"

"In most cases, yes, but this one is different from the others." Commander Tower told her.

"How so?" Shadow inquired, now speaking up, crossing his arms together.

"Agent Katswell, please step forward." The G.U.N Commander ordered.

Kitty promptly did as she was told, where he formally announced after she was in front of them, "Team Dark, meet your newest comrade, Miss Kitty Katswell."

"What?" All three members of the team said this in unison.

"You must be joking, sir." Rouge stated with arched eyebrows in protest. "Her?"

Before he could speak up, Shadow added his two cents as well, saying with a huff, "I'll have to agree with Rouge here. This feline would just be deadweight and slow us down."

"Hey, I resent that!" the tan feline objected, now heavily frowning at him.

Not surprisingly, the black hedgehog only glared at her in response without saying another word.

"I'll handle this, Agent Katswell." The G.U.N Commander told her. He then looked at them and said with a firm expression, "Now look… Agent Katswell has earned the right to prove her worth at G.U.N. And since she is a Mobian, I expect you to train her and give me a full report on her progress. No exceptions."

To put it lightly, Rouge was not happy about this order at all. Nevertheless, she asked with her hands at her sides again, "And just where do you expect us to train this amateur, Commander? Out here in the city? The park?"

"No, I expect you to train her out in the fields around New Mobotropolis." He told her. "Since that place is hit the most by that terrorist scientist, Dr. Eggman, she might as well see first hand how much to prepare for an attack of his."

Deep down though, he was using that excuse as a means to get them away from Central City since he did not like having Mobians around one iota.

Rouge not surprisingly was deeply suspicious of this location choice of his, but before she could protest further, Commander Tower told the members of Team Dark, "Anyway, just to clear up any confusion, Agent Katswell here will have to pass your tests before she becomes an official member of the group. For now, she is a member in training."

"Meaning…?"

"Meaning, Agent Rouge, if she doesn't match up to the criteria of what it takes to stand on her own two feet here at Team Dark within a week, you are to give me a full report on it. Afterwards, Agent Katswell will be given her discharge papers and no longer an agent of G.U.N."

"I see. How very interesting…"

Hope did not like the look she saw on the female bat's face at all. It was the look of none other than a vile smirk, one she couldn't help but suspect Rouge would intentionally sabotage Kitty's chances to join the team.

Moment later, the female bat told the Commander with a smile, "Well, sir, consider your request granted." While looking at Kitty, she added smugly, "I assure you Agent Katswell here will either sink or swim as long as I'm in charge of Team Dark."

"Good. "Commander Tower replied. "Anyway, before you head out, properly introduce yourself to her, and please be cordial about it."

"As you wish…"

And with that statement, Rouge slowly walked over to Kitty, still keeping the same smug look on her face as before.

"So, the Commander really thinks you might have what it takes to be a member of this group." The female bat stated to her with a chuckle, giving her the once over. "How amusing…"

"Are you actually insulating that I have no chance of making it here?" Kitty demanded of her frowning.

Since the Commander was still in ear's range, Rouge gave a politically correct answer to the feline agent instead, replying, "I guess we'll find that out soon enough, won't we?"

Rouge then extended her hand towards the tan feline with fake politeness, saying, "Anyway… as the Commander mentioned earlier, I'm Rouge the bat, leader of Team Dark."

Kitty went along with it for the sake of her job, extending her hand as well. Once their hands joined to shake, the female bat soon added with another sly smirk on her face, "I'm looking forward to putting you through the ringer just to see what you're made of, feline."

Kitty however didn't back down at all at her words, replying with the same tough bravado, "Bring it, Agent Rouge. I look forward to wiping that disgusting grin off of your face when these tests of yours are all said and done."

"Careful, honey…" Rouge retorted with arrogance, waving a finger from her left hand at the tan feline in a taunting manner. "You may find yourself in hotter water than you can handle. Passing my training exercises will not be child's play in the least."

"You just let me worry about that." The tan feline shot back, glaring intently at the female bat. "I've already silenced many of the Commander's doubts, and soon I shall do the same to you as well."

"Oh I am so going to enjoy this." Rouge said, now grinning like a Cheshire cat.

While this was going on, Hope walked over to Shadow, saying to him softly, "Shadow, could I talk with you privately before you guys head out?"

"What for?" he inquired with reluctance on his face.

After taking him aside so no one could hear their conservation, Hope said with deep concern, "I have a bad feeling Rouge is going to try and intentionally fail Kitty when she tests her abilities."

"And why is that any concern of mine?" the black hedgehog asked her.

"Shadow, please… you of all people should know she deserves at least a fair chance to prove herself, right?"

Shadow though turned away, as he wanted no part of this assignment, or the tan feline on their team for that matter either.

Hope then said, trying to appeal to his good natured side, "Ask yourself… what would Maria want you to do if she was here?"

The black hedgehog instantly turned back to her, saying with a fierce growl, "I told you to never speak her name as a means to toy with my emotions!"

Hope quickly recoiled from his anger, replying to try and calm the waters, "I'm not trying to use her name as an emotional weapon. I'm just pleading with you to do the right thing."

But again, Shadow turned away in a huff.

After a long pause, Hope tried one last time to reason with him, saying with desperation in her body language, "Please, Shadow… as your friend, I'm begging you here… please be the one to make sure Kitty gets a fair shot to join the team."

Ironically, the black hedgehog now mulled over her words carefully, trying to think of how to answer her without appearing to be too harsh.

"You once told me Maria asked of you to give the people here in Mobius a chance to be happy." Hope explained. "Don't you think Kitty is one of those she meant for you to give that opportunity to as well?"

Shadow sighed heavily from her words, as he was more confused than ever. Finally, after thinking it over long and hard, he said, now looking back at Hope, "Ok, fine, I'll agree to your request."

"Thank you, Shadow." Hope quickly ran over to him and hugged the black hedgehog tightly from the chest down. "I knew I could count on you."

Shadow however reiterated to the young female mechanic after he gently had her remove her arms around his waist, "But know this… If this feline shows me she's not capable of holding her ground during the testing process, I shall not hesitate to cast my vote against her. Only those who are truly elite can be apart of this team."

"Understood." Hope replied with a nod.

With that now settled, the female mechanic walked back to Kitty, who was now done conversing with the manipulative bat. Once Hope was nearby her, she said with a sigh, "Well, I guess this is where we part ways for now…"

"Yea, I guess so…" Kitty replied softly with a nod.

"You nervous at all?" Hope inquired.

Kitty shrugged her shoulders in response, answering, "Eh, a little… but, I'll manage."

Hope then gently clutched Kitty's right hand with hers, telling the tan feline with a smile, "As long as you do your best, you'll be fine. Shadow agreed to look out for you while you're on your training mission with Team Dark."

"Well, that's good to know." Kitty stated. "I think…"

"Ok, Hope, you've had your time to say what you wanted." The G.U.N Commander said, now breaking up their conversation. "It's time you all got back to work."

Rouge, trying to kiss up to him for extra brownie points, replied with fake respect, "I couldn't agree more with you, sir. Let's get this show on the road."

Realizing there wasn't much time left for a personal goodbye, Hope quickly hugged Kitty from the knees down, saying with a smile while looking up at her, "See you later, friend. Have a good session."

"You too, Hope." The tan feline replied, returning her embrace.

Seconds later, the young female mechanic finally let go and slowly walked back to her station, with the G.U.N Commander soon following suit. Once they were inside the building, Rouge turned to Kitty and stated to her with a witty quip, "I have to say… that girl has really pampered you too much, feline. I hope it hasn't made you go soft. It would be a shame for you to fail because you lost your edge."

Now out of patience with her constant bantering, Kitty abruptly turned to look at Rouge, saying with a heavy frown on her face, "Just take me to the training grounds already, bat. Your tongue is really too sharp for its own good."

That remark quickly made the female bat's facial expressions change from a grin to a frown of her own, saying while crossing her arms together, "Well, somebody sure needs a chill out pill. Can't take a little ribbing I see…"

"Save your ribs for after I fail to make an impression on you." Kitty shot back at her. "My actions will do the talking for me soon enough."

"Gladly." Rouge answered.

Rouge then attempted to walk away and lead the group, but instead soon turned back to look at the tan feline, telling her with a look of stone, "Oh, by the way… I strongly suggest you don't call me bat, and or even batty for that matter if you want to have any chance at making it here. Since I am the leader of Team Dark, I expect you to show me some respect."

"Like you have for me?" Kitty retorted.

"You haven't earned my respect yet, feline." Rouge countered, "So until you have, don't expect any from me, or the others too might I add."

Since Kitty could sense she was dead serious about that, the tan feline reluctantly agreed to her terms, replying with a nod, "Very well then, Agent Rouge. If you insist…"

And with that statement, the four of them headed off for the plains of New Mobotropolis.

Strangely, when Kitty started to follow them, she noticed the third member, none other than the E-123 Omega robot, glanced intently at the tan feline, even to the point of making her uncomfortable.

"Is there a reason why you're staring at me now, robot?" Kitty inquired with arched eyebrows.

After a long pause, Omega answered her in his robotic tone, "I cannot find any additional data in my memory banks about you. The only info I have on you is your name and identity. Why is that? I have been programmed to know the bio about every single Mobian on this planet."

"That's because I'm not originally from this place." Kitty explained to him while they walked. "In fact, I wasn't even born on this planet."

"Are you trying to tell me you're an alien?" the E-123 robot inquired.

"No, of course not!" she answered sharply, insulted at the very thought. "In a nutshell, I was accidentally transported here from another world."

"Then you are an alien." Omega concluded.

"I just told you I am not one!" Kitty shouted, losing her patience with this bot. "Why do you keep bringing that up?"

"Because you said you are not from Mobius." Omega explained. "If that is true, then that means you must have come from another planet, thus that makes you an alien."

Kitty now growled in pure frustration at the E-123 robot's deduction. She could tell this machine was very dense about changing its mind. Not surprisingly, Rouge was secretly grinning to herself about this, as she was enjoying seeing the tan feline get all riled up.

Before Kitty could answer again, Shadow finally spoke up, telling her while looking back in her direction, "You might as well quit trying to argue with Omega, feline. He's not capable of being able to decipher between facts and common logic."

"Fine." The tan feline replied. "I rather drop the matter myself anyway."

In spite of this, Omega however wouldn't drop it due to being a machine, telling Kitty, "Alien feline, I request that you tell me more about yourself. I must know more about you so I can store this information in my data banks."

By this point, the tan feline was ready to tell this robot off. Rouge however thankfully saved her from having to do so, replying, "Let's wait on that until after the training missions are completed, Omega. After all, why clutter your hard drive with additional info you may not need in the near future?"

Kitty instantly frowned at the manipulative bat's statement. She knew that a subtle cheap shot intentionally directed at her. Nevertheless, the tan feline kept her mouth shut; as she knew the best way to silence Rouge was to blow her away with her abilities.

As for Omega, he said in response to Rouge's words, "I do not understand the logic at all in that idea, but since you are the leader of this group, I shall obey your orders."

You know, for a robot, it sure takes its logic of doing things pretty seriously. Kitty thought to herself. I'm not sure if that's good or bad thing though…

Suddenly, out of nowhere a minute later, Kitty and the other Team Dark members were completely blinded by a heavy flash of white, making them stop in their tracks with deep alarm.

Unknown to them however, this blanket of whiteness was not caused by the sun or anything of that nature. Instead, it appeared to be something that was very eerie.

It was almost as if the planet had been scientifically altered…

Two minutes into it, the blanket of white around their eyes finally began to fade away, leaving all four of them slightly disoriented and heavily confused.

"What in the world was that?" Kitty asked, looking around the area. "I've never seen anything like that happen in my life!"

"Me neither…" Rouge added, trying to keep her composure. "How strange."

"My sensors have picked up an unknown electromagnetic field as the root cause." Omega told them. "What this substance is made of though, I cannot tell."

Not surprisingly, the one who was the least disturbed and confused by this whole scenario was Shadow. He then looked ahead and said with a heavy frown, "I sense a familiar dark presence in the distance. That white blanket of light was definitely not caused by anyone of good intentions at all."

"Dark presence? What are you talking about?" Kitty inquired, now more confused than ever.

"I don't know for sure yet," the black hedgehog replied, "but I have a strong inkling the culprit is someone we may know very well."

"Someone we know…?" Kitty at that moment tried to figure out what he was trying to say. Within seconds however, she finally did, as a vivid image of a certain vile mad scientist flashed through her mind.

"Eggman? You think he did this?" the tan feline asked.

Shadow finally looked back at her, replying in his usual tone of voice, "I wouldn't put it past him. That much is certain."

Before Kitty could ponder this mystery further, Rouge said to the team with authority, "Well, we'll let those in New Mobotropolis figure it out. In the meantime, we have a rookie member to train now, do we not?"

Kitty knew this was true, but her mind sadly was too preoccupied with the blinding white light to focus on the task on the hand. Nevertheless, she forced herself to put this matter aside and prepared to win the respect of a certain female bat.

* * *

Two hours later, Team Dark carefully made their way into a nearby forest a couple of miles from the capital of the Acorn Republic, with Rouge stating while leading the group, "Just a little bit further, everyone. I know of a good open spot that'll be perfect for us to test our new feline comrade."

A minute into the forest, Kitty finally asked the female bat, "By the way, what are these tests you mentioned I have to pass anyway? You mind telling me what's to be expected?"

Rouge though wasn't about to do that, replying in her usual witty banter, "And spoil the surprise? No way, feline. I'll let you know once we arrive at the spot. No use in telling you now so you can somehow prepare for them."

Kitty again frowned at her mind games, but chose to let it go. She would get her chance to make this bat eat crow soon enough.

However, before they could reach the spot, the four of them ran into an unknown Mobian, a blue and gray female hedgehog, basically running as fast as she could. She was running so fast in fact, she didn't even see Team Dark in front of her, where she then abruptly collided into Rouge, almost knocking her down in the process.

"Hey, what's the big idea, missy?" the female bat demanded of her with a heavy frown.

This mysterious female instantly recoiled in response, replying while trying to catch her breath, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to run into you like that."

"Why are you in such a hurry anyway?" Rouge inquired further. "Did something spook you or something?"

Ironically, Rouge had hit the nail on the head, as the female and blue hedgehog quickly answered, now with tears streaming down her face, "Yes, something did indeed."

Kitty now spoke up, asking, "What's happened to make you so upset?"

Trying to keep her composure, the female hedgehog answered with a sob in her throat, "Terrible things have happened in New Mobotropolis!"

"What do you mean by that?" Rouge demanded with arched eyebrows. "You mind sharing it with us?

Again, with tears in her eyes, the female hedgehog told them bluntly, "it's Eggman and Naugus. They…"

"Eggman? Did he cause that flash of bright light?" Kitty asked further

"I don't really know to be honest," she explained to them "but what I do know, Naugus is now the new king of the city."

"Who is this Naugus you speak of anyhow?" the tan feline inquired.

"He's a very evil and terrifying wizard." The blue and gray hedgehog explained to her. "He recently manipulated our city officials into allowing him take the throne away from King Elias. And sadly, that's not even the worst news from there."

"What could possibly be worse than that?" Shadow asked of her with arched eyebrows.

Now no longer able to control her emotions, the female hedgehog finally bursted into tears, saying in-between sobs, "It's Princess Sally. She's been... roboticized!"

Instantly, everyone except for Omega, gasped in disbelief.

"You can't be serious." Rouge said, her eyebrows fully furrowed. "Roboticization was rendered obsolete by the BEM aliens over a year ago."

"That's what I thought too." The female hedgehog replied with a quivering lip. "But it's back now somehow. I'm scared to death at what could come next from it."

"What's your name by the way?" Kitty asked of her.

"Cindy." She answered sullenly.

"Cindy, tell us," Kitty said, "how did you find out this roboticization process was back?"

"Because the hero of our city, Sonic, saw it first hand in the Death Egg II." The blue and gray hedgehog explained. "He was trying to tell everyone about it as a way to warn the citizens about Naugus after he destroyed a terrifying robot. But, it sadly backfired. That incident instead caused them instead to want that vile sorcerer to be their protector all the more."

"And you don't I take it…" Rouge concluded.

"Absolutely not!" Cindy answered sharply. "He is evil personified as far as I'm concerned, maybe even worse than Eggman. I don't want any part of a city with him as king. That's why I'm now fleeing from New Mobotropolis. I'm almost certain things are only going to get worse there from here on out."

"But, where will you go?" Kitty inquired with concern. "I mean, what about your personal belongings?"

"My husband Geo is taking care of it for me." The female hedgehog answered. "In the meantime, he requested that I run ahead and meet him in our special spot here in the forest for my own protection. After that, we're going to move to another city, far away from this one."

Kitty carefully pondered this recent information over, trying to make heads or tails about what just happened. She then asked of Cindy, remembering what Hope had told her earlier about the two main Freedom Fighter leaders, "How is Sonic taking all of this by the way?"

"Not well." She replied with a sympathetic sigh. "Last time I saw him, he ran off, trying to get his friends to help him save the Princess I think…"

"Wow, poor guy…" Kitty stated softly, feeling deep empathy inside for him. She then turned to her members, saying with firm resolve, "C'mon, guys, we need to investigate this at once."

Rouge though just frowned at her, replying, "Excuse me? Did I just hear you dare to give us an order?"

"Didn't you hear Cindy at all?" Kitty shot back. "Terrible things are happening in New Mobotropolis. We should head there at once and do something about it."

"Well, excuse me if I sound selfish here, but that city is not in our jurisdiction." The female bat told her sharply. "As sympathetic as I feel for those there, our primary responsibility is to train you and protect the citizens of Central City."

"So you're just going to let them get away with this?" Kitty argued, now dumbfounded by her heartlessness. "Are you not a Mobian? Do you care at all about the city where most of your species dwells?"

"I told you, feline, I do care about them and I do feel bad about what has happened to Princess Sally." Rouge countered. "But again, we are not part of this country any longer. We are G.U.N agents, and if you want to be a full time G.U.N agent as well, I strongly suggest you drop this silly notion at once and focus on the task at hand."

Kitty again glared at the female bat with disgust. Rouge however though added to drive her point home, "Unless you rather have me fail you now that is… You'll have plenty of time after that to try and play heroine."

When Rouge put it that way, Kitty finally relinquished, though with extreme reluctance, even letting out a sigh of deep frustration.

"I thought so, feline…" After a brief pause, Rouge told the others, "Ok, guys, let's keep moving. We're wasting time now."

To Kitty's surprise, neither Omega, nor Shadow objected to this decision of hers at all, as they soon followed suit. Cindy on the other hand continued her walk in the opposite direction.

As for tan feline, she now fully understood what Hope had meant by push comes to shove when mentioning Rouge earlier while following Team Dark further into the forest.

She then thought with a big frown on her face while they walked, I cannot believe this bat is more concerned with petty training exercises than helping those who are in trouble. Hope clearly kidding at all when she said Rouge can be shady when she wants to be.

In spite of her rising anger towards the female bat, Kitty knew she had to put her ill feelings aside and take care of business at hand. It was vital that she passed these tests in order to take care of a matter even more important to her than the new trouble brewing in New Mobotropolis.

Discovering her lost past to save Dudley…


End file.
